We fell silent. What else was there to say?
“I have another one in the cooler,” Dmitry pointed at the empty bottle. “Shall we?”
I nodded.
He reached into the cabinet and filled our glasses with the amber liquor. The tangy woody aroma embraced my nose. We took a sip.
“I’ve been to the Moon yesterday,” Dmitry announced.
I choked on my drink. “Excuse me?”
He grinned. “Been to the Moon, I’m telling you.”
“I heard you the first time. I thought I was hearing things.”
“Our company is facing some major changes,” he began to explain. “Most importantly, we’re about to sell the majority stake to the government. That’s it. End of my freedom. My bosses just don’t cut it. The whole thing proved too big for them.”
“It was to be expected,” I said.
Dmitry nodded. “This is the proverbial mountain coming to Mohammad.”
“What about the Moon?” I reminded him.
“Not just the Moon. It’s also Mars and Jupiter,” he began to ramble. “They’re working on several projects, both major and minor ones. Mirror World is only the beginning. Not everyone is into sword and sorcery, you see. A lot of people would prefer shooters and all sorts of star wars. Others don’t want to fight at all. They want a game where you can create a character and just live there in peace with no need for swords, spells, starships and all that bullshit. A few new games are being tested even as we speak. One, as I’ve just said, is a space war simulator. Another one is a post-ap. There’s also one based on the two world wars.”
“Oh. What about the minor projects?”
His eyes lit up. “That’s where it gets interesting. It’s going to be some sort of funfair ride. Like an imitation of a trip to other planets, for one. Everything will be real: the launch site, the spaceships, the spacesuits—the lot!”
“If they’re as real as Mirror World, they will go through the roof,” I said.
“Oh trust me they are,” Dmitry assured me. “Just think of all those dreams coming true! Space travel! Journeys to other planets! No need to pay a king’s ransom for a premium account. It’ll be single-use rides. They’re going to create a special client database to log in their medical checks results and all that.”
“Wow.”
“You think someone would refuse to take their family on a Mars weekend? Or try one of our Animal World shows where you can soar in the sky with eagles or become a dolphin plowing through the seas? We have Stone Age, The Era of Dinos, Ancient China, Ancient Rome and Medieval Europe. And our Children’s World, packed with ponies, Disney characters and Barbie dolls! The mind boggles. Would you like to go to a Beatles show?”
“You bet,” I said.
“So you see? Only a game, you said?”
“More like a new industry,” I agreed. “Something’s brewing, I can feel it. Something very special.”
We fell silent again.
“Listen,” Dmitry finally perked up. “It’s no good me doing all the talking. You still haven’t told me what you plan to do now. Don’t you feel sorry about your loan?”
“Not at this price,” I said. “Not now that I can finally see this game’s potential.”
“I told you it wasn’t a game anymore, didn’t I?” he grinned. “Mister escape artist.”
I chuckled. “Talk about bad luck. I thought I had it all sorted, and now I’ll have to start all over again. And time is an issue.”
“You don’t need to ‘start all over again’, do you?” he said. “And even so, not many have a jump start like yours! You’re an Experienced Digger, man, and that’s no ‘starting over’ at all! So what’s your plan?”
I rubbed my temples. I felt tired. “I’ve been considering several options,” I began. “At first I contemplated the idea of joining the Dark side, but then I realized I might actually be giving Shantarsky a carte blanche. You’re nodding—so you probably agree with me. Then I asked myself a question. Where can I work in peace without having to fear all these Slayers and other psychos? I came to the conclusion that I needed to find an influential land owner, preferably one who belongs to a top clan. Like Lady Melorie from the Steel Shirts.”
“Oh,” Dmitry rubbed his chin. “I was about to suggest Egan from the Untouchables. He is a very influential person in Mirror World, and his clan is one of the strongest. Melorie, the Lady of Storms! Hm. Actually, you might be right. She is Arrid’s wife...”
I nodded. “Arrid is the clan’s leader.”
“You’re a clever bastard, are you?”
“You bet,” I grinned. “I’ll join her workforce as an ordinary Grinder and just keep leveling, nice and quiet. She won’t even notice me. She has hundreds of workers like myself—thousands even. I checked her out once at some forum. She’s a major land owner too.”
“And then what?” Dmitry asked, curious.
“Well, considering that a major loan implies a long-term work contract, I’ll be working toward that end. I can always sell myself into slavery if it comes to that. But now I need my independence. I need a free hand.”
“That’s right,” he nodded.
“You see,” I began, “when Christina’s body rejected the donor heart, we lost everything. We’d already sold everything we’d had. Thank God we’d had it! We’d hoped it would solve the problem. As a result, we lost everything—and the problems just kept piling up. God forbid you ever feel as helpless as I did then!”
We paused, each thinking his own thoughts. Dmitry was the first to break the silence,
“You still haven’t told me whether you have other banks in mind.”
I shook my head. “Zilch. I’ve been with Mega Bank for ages. My credit history, you know... The moment I find another job I’ll start shopping for a new one.”
He rubbed his chin. “Listen... If you don’t mind me saying... You do have an account at Reflex Bank, don’t you?”
“Reflex what?”
“It’s Mirror World’s in-game bank.”
“I see... Yes, I used it to channel real-world money into the game. I must still have about a hundred left there. Why?”
“There’s something you need to know. Reflex Bank isn’t just a money-shifting machine.”
I hurried to wipe my glasses. “Tell me.”
“To put it short, they do loans too,” Dmitry said. “Just don’t hold your breath. At the moment, you can forget it. Both your account type and the narrow time frame are against you. But, say, in a year’s time...”
I tensed like a greyhound. Dmitry must have sensed what I was feeling.
“Look at him,” he said mockingly. “Never mind. I’ll explain it now. The bank where you keep your in-game currency is indeed only a cash dispenser with a few very basic functions. That’s all it is. If you want something more sophisticated, you need to address yourself to their head office in Mellenville—Mirror World’s capital city. I’m not sure if you know but low-level players aren’t even allowed within its city limits. But you’ve already sorted that problem out for yourself. When I realized it, I immediately thought about Reflex Bank.”
“Wait a sec,” I said. “This doesn’t add up, does it? An in-game bank capable of giving out wads of Monopoly money which you can then exchange for the real thing? That’s bullshit.”
“It would have been—had it not been for one peculiar detail. Reflex Bank is a baby of some five or six—can’t remember the exact number now—of the world’s biggest banks. When receiving an in-game loan, you choose one of them as your creditor.”
“So the money is real.”
“Of course. Basically, you’re signing a loan agreement with a proper bank, only you do it in Mirror World. If later you quit the game for some reason, you’re still under the same obligation to pay the money back in real life.”
“Hm,” I murmured. “The question is, where’s the catch? Would I be correct in suggesting that in order to get a loan, I first need to earn a certain reputation? Is tha
t right?”
He nodded. “Exactly. And not only that. There’s a number of conditions you’re supposed to meet, otherwise they won’t even talk to you.”
“Which are?”
“An extended immersion without logging out for at least a month, for starters.”
I whistled in astonishment.
“If you do log out, you’ll have to start it all over again. Next thing. All these employer-paid communal modules won’t cut it anymore. You’ll have to shell out for a state-of-the-art capsule and medical support. It’s not as expensive as you might think, but still. Plus your own health, of course. Having said that, an Experienced Digger’s gear can keep the player in the game for even longer periods.”
“That’s not all, is it?”
“Oh, no. Far from it. They won’t even talk to you in the bank unless you have a registered Mellenville address. Normally, a player can just come and live there, no red tape involved. But you must have one. You can’t afford to buy a place, that little is clear. So you’ll either have to rent a room or stay at a hotel. And to have your address registered, the property owner has to sign for you. If ever you decide to go that route, you won’t get bored, that’s for sure.”
“Why all this song and dance?”
“The city’s reputation. The higher your own reputation, the more opportunities you’ll have all around the city. And that means at the bank too. You’ll be obliged to do certain tasks and quests—some simple, others quite complex. You can go and check the forums to see what everyone has to say about Mellenville. Just don’t expect to find any answers.
“Why so?”
“There’re no guidebooks on Mellenville. All the quests are individual and random. And one more thing. You really need to be on your best behavior there. Mellenville is an NPC city.”
“What city?”
“A city controlled by Non-Player Characters. Artificial Intellects. Robots, if the word can help you grasp the concept.
“I see,” I suppressed a yawn.
“Just don’t think you’ll be greeted by some primitive pieces of scrap metal. Right,” Dmitry slapped his shoulders and clambered to his feet, looking tired. “More on this tomorrow. Beddy-byes time. What a day! Try to get some rest now. The bedding’s in the wardrobe. The couch is quite comfortable. I’ve slept here on a number of occasions. I still have a few phone calls to make.”
“Thanks, Dmitry. No idea what I’d have done without you.”
He waved my words away and added in a rough voice, “Off to bed now... escape artist.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Surprisingly, I slept like a baby that night. This is probably what happens to everyone who’s just made a life-changing decision like I had.
I was going to do the extended immersion thing. Sveta hadn’t liked the idea at all. Still, when I’d laid all the pros in front of her, she’d finally given in—but only because she had no idea of my last-night’s adventures. Dmitry, on the contrary, accepted my decision. I even got the impression he’d expected it from the start.
My move to the new module center was nothing to write home about. I’d been living out of a suitcase for the last few years anyway so I’d become quite immune to that sort of thing. A month’s subscription had put me back thirteen hundred bucks. More expenses—but at least I hoped it was worth it. Thank God I had money on my account! Between the ten grand transferred by Rrhorgus, all my starting money and whatever I’d earned in the last week, I hadn’t had to borrow from my brother.
By the way, Flint had managed to declare their last haul. As a result, I’d earned six hundred gold from that instance. Excellent. All because we’d had lots of bonus crystals that day.
I really didn’t want to part with the guys. They were a good team. Dmitry had told me they’d found another employer, somewhere closer to the frontier with the Darkies. Apparently, Flint and Co. had filed an official complaint against Slayer. Shantarsky pretended he’d known nothing about the Wild West nature of the situation in his cluster and had publicly kicked Slayer out of the clan. That was the end of it.
Apparently, Flint hadn’t had a chance to delete me from the group. Slayer had done his best to stop them too. By the time they’d got their act together, I was already engaged in combat while Flint stood by the entrance to the grotto trying to disband the group. Imagine his surprise when I dropped out of the instance, then quit the game!
I just hoped he understood enough to keep his mouth shut. At some later date, we might meet up and discuss it all. But not now.
Admittedly I couldn’t even remember how I’d quit the game. It was irrelevant, anyway. I had other things to worry about. My main objective was to raise a hundred and eighty-five grand.
Time to start all over again. My “extended immersion” was looming. Perusing the multitude of forums and blogs had only added to my confusion. The amount of contradictory and superfluous information on Reflex Bank was mind-boggling. It gave me the impression that seventy percent of it was a clever decoy. It made one thing clear though: it wasn’t going to be easy. Especially for me with my humble Grinder’s account.
But as far as NPCs were concerned, the information on them was pretty clear-cut. The so-called ‘Glasshouse NPCs’ were considerably different from their counterparts in other computer games. Mirror World’s developers had created a special program called A Mirror Soul. This was a truly grandiose concept that allowed the Non-Player Characters to go far beyond their usual “emotion imitation” stuff. Instead of just generating joy, pleasure or fear, these NPCs could express their own attitude toward the situation and their role within it. Basically, a Mirror Soul was nothing other than a high tech clone of the human mind.
Jesus. A virtual world. A virtual mind. The more I learned about this place, the less comfortable I felt. I had a hunch that something had changed—that the world had moved on while I was lagging behind, choking on the dust raised by the avant-garde.
* * *
“Are you ready?” my brother asked me.
“Yeah,” I nodded, suspended in the jelly-like substance.
Now more than ever he reminded me of Dad. I’d been eight at the time; Dad had taught me to ride a bike. The same emotionless face and the same vivid eyes filled with care and concern.
“Make sure you don’t do anything stupid,” he said.
I grinned. “Will do my best.”
“Good luck, then!”
“Likewise.”
Noiselessly the lid of my “coffin” slid shut. I found myself in the familiar pitch darkness. A piercing light assaulted my eyes. I was back in Mirror World.
A large 3D inscription hovered before my eyes,
Greetings, Olgerd! Welcome to Mirror World!
Please choose your entry point.
I stared at a list of some fifty major towns within Mirror World’s realm of Light, supplied courtesy of the game’s administration. I suppressed a sarcastic chuckle. How very nice. Freakin’ do-gooders. It’s the thought that counts, anyway.
I chose The Outskirts of Verdaille City. Leuton was more or less off limits for me now.
I heaved a sigh. That was it. I was in it for a month. No way back.
I was standing with my back to a forest, facing a neat corn field. The clock showed 7 a.m. The sun was just kissing the horizon.
I turned around. The forest was still dark and damp. The moist grass felt cold on my bare feet. Oh. I’d love to know who was wearing my boots now. They must have already flogged them for a nice bit of profit, as well as the gloves. What a shame.
Never mind. Once I got to the nearest city shop and compared their prices with the auction, I could kit myself out again.
Oh, before I forgot. I opened my Friends list. Nobody online yet.
Would you like to delete yourself from your Friends list?
Sure. This way they’d have no way of locating me. Sorry, Rrhorgus, Greg and Sandra. It was for your own good. Seeing me now wasn’t a healthy idea: you were still in Shantarsky’s employment. O
ne day we might meet up and discuss it all over a nice long drink. At least I hoped we might.
Now, the clothes. Oh. That Steel Widow had done a nice job on me. My damaged gear was worth jack shit now. But what could I do? It was a good thing I still had something to wear.
Wait a sec. What was that now? How could I have ever forgotten? Actually, no wonder. I’d been too busy thinking of other things.
The Apps tab was blinking orange. Let’s have a look.
Would you like to install the Der Swyor app suite?
Oh, no. No need to rush. A new surprise from Pierrot was the last thing I needed right now. Later, all later.
I’d completely forgotten all about the clan’s ring and the app that came with it. What a shame. I couldn’t even pick Dmitry’s brains on the subject now. Actually, I hadn’t asked anyone’s advice before downloading the file, had I? So it was only fair I had to use my own head. I was still kicking myself for having stayed behind in the cave that day instead of leaving with the rest of the group.
“Never mind,” I mumbled. “Time to get going. I have lots to do still.”
I walked along the road past golden corn fields, watching the farmers heading off to work. They all smiled. I could hear them joking. The air rang with women’s laughter. Someone had already got down to work, singing. For a brief moment I had the illusion I was back in my childhood home, standing amid the boundless corn fields of Ukraine. I could almost hear the voice of Grandpa Stephan asking me to fetch him some water.
I shook my head free of the unwelcome memories and squinted at the workers for a better look, making out the pointy ears of Alven women and the Dwandes’ impressive fangs.
The loss of my boots and gloves hadn’t affected my mood that much. My speed hadn’t dropped. Even incomplete, the Seasoned Digger’s gear set allowed you to comfortably travel the vast expanses of this world. I remembered the trials and tribulations of my first-day journey. That had been a feat!
After fifteen minutes of brisk walking, I checked my Energy levels. I’d only spent 20 pt. Excellent! That was a drop in the ocean. And if I set the bot to economy mode, I wouldn’t even need to check it: it would restore Energy levels automatically.
Project Daily Grind (Mirror World Book #1) Page 19