Initializing

by K. T. Hanna

Merlin inched farther forward, drew his bow, and pulled the next round of mobs.

  “I have a stun. Four seconds duration. I think I get more as time goes by.” Murmur glanced at her list while executing Mesmerize.

  Beastial grunted as he smashed a rogue with his mace. “Think we could stun lock? Haven’t stun locked in so long.”

  Sin laughed. “Volleys of arrows and stun locks are our friends.”

  “Not sure if we can, but we can try. You know when we’re like level twenty-five.” Murmur frowned at her HUD and sifted through her stat increases. All her spell levels were already well into level ten. At least that wouldn’t be a problem. Thought Sensing had increased to twenty-seven, and shielding to twenty-eight. Frowning, she noticed Projection was only at three. Perhaps she had to talk into other people’s heads for that to go up, or else use Suggestion?

  Some things were so straight forward, and then there were her skills. Nothing black and white about them.

  Dev leveled first. About ten percent in front of Murmur. His cresting over to double digits rejuvenated the entire group. They fought harder and faster, took more risks, and became more boisterous. At this rate, they’d all hit level ten within the next hour or so.

  Murmur could feel the tiredness pulling at her. But more than that was a bone deep weariness at the very back of her head, somewhere it felt like her true thoughts no longer existed. If she believed in that sort of thing, she’d think she was disembodied, but that was just crazy talk. More likely, it was hunger. Considering it was sometime around two in the morning in the tangible world, her food consumption hadn’t been anywhere close to enough. Even if she wasn’t hungry.

  Merlin dinged next, closely followed by Havoc.

  “Awww yes!” Merlin did a little ranger jig with his bow, jutting out a hip and striking a pose. “You know you love me!”

  Murmur laughed. She’d forgotten how good it could be to hang around people who didn’t judge her for trying hard. Unless she counted Havoc, who had seemed very off in the last day.

  Beast groaned. “So close. I can actually feel my stomach rumbling. I can’t even remember the last time I ate real food.”

  “Bet you smell too,” Sin elbowed him as they waited for another pull.

  “You absorb then disperse blood as a healing mechanism. Which one of us is the more disgusting?” He raised an eyebrow at her before heading back into battle.

  Murmur shook her head. “Don’t antagonize your healer, Beast.”

  He laughed, swinging his mace viciously. “Right, Mur, Sin’s nothing like you.”

  Sin glared at his back. “No, I’m worse. I learned from the best.”

  Beast had the good grace not to reply, and instead refocused his efforts on downing a raving bard in front of him. Lucky for him, he dinged once the mob died. Considering Sin hadn’t filled his health bar during that fight at all, it was a god-send.

  Finally it was Mur’s turn, and shortly thereafter Sin.

  “Ten. We’re freaking ten!” Dev raised his fist to the sky in a victory pose.

  Havoc resummoned his pet, buffed it and turned to Murmur. “You’re not going to let us sleep yet, are you.”

  “Power nap do? How about we meet back here at seven-thirty in the real world. That’s about three and a half hours I think.” She glanced at her quests, noting her weird thoughts can be heard everywhere quest was prompting her to go and see Belius as soon as possible.

  “I know I have the next step of the vague quest to end all vague quests to do. Not sure how long that’ll take, but I need food, and a bit of shut eye would be good.”

  “Wonders will never cease.” Dev stepped forward, his eyes reflecting his tiredness. “Thanks little sis, for holding back for us oldies.”

  “Idiot.” She muttered. “You’re in college. So ancient.”

  “Set an alarm!” Sin practically shouted the words out.

  “What?” Merlin put his hands over his ears.

  She punched him in the arm. “You can set an alarm. Your account will alert you ten minutes or whatever you set beforehand, so you can get in on time.”

  “Wow,” Havoc dismissed his pet as they began walking back toward Ululate. “That’s enabling.”

  Murmur took a moment to talk to the guild: Taking a brief break and power nap. Keep going everyone. I swear I’ll be more social once we get some more levels.

  Veranol: Hahaha Mur, pull the other one.

  She shook her head and dismissed the chat, knowing the rest of the responses would likely be in the same vein. Veranol was playing a shaman—she was glad, too. He’d always been one of her favorite healers to work with in a raid.

  “Sorry guys, I don’t know how long this errand quest thing is going to go on, I have to Gate and catch a wagon. I’ll catch up with you soon.” Murmur waved goodbye and gated back to the spot they bound in Ululate, before the others could say anything. As she went to leave, an arm grabbed hold of her. Just about to turn and give Jirald an ear full, she realized it was the hazily nondescript NPC holding her arm, and not the other player.

  She snatched it away, taking two steps backward. “What?”

  “You have the aura. Be careful with it. You have no idea what it means.” The sharp blue of his eyes pierced right down through her, taking her breath in such a way that she began coughing to regain some air. Then he looked away, eyes blank once more. Even then, after he’d spoken to her, she still couldn’t place his appearance.

  Irritation at an all new high, she pushed through the crowd gathered around the stalls, almost tripped over a group of kids who were playing some sort of strange throw the ball and freeze game, and then down to the wagon, calling out to Jan.

  “Hiya, miss. Headed back already?” He asked in a polite tone. She handed him another two silver and climbed aboard. “Ye lucky ye caught me. Couple more minutes an I’da been gone.”

  “Impeccable timing, that’s me.” She smiled at him, rubbing her arm where the binder had touched her skin. It didn’t look any different, but she’d be more careful around everything from now on. No time like the present to find Belius and try to figure out what the hell was going on.

  Storm Corp

  Storm Technologies Division Theoretical Neuroscience Arm

  Countdown: Eleven months before Somnia Online launch

  Finally, Michael had a hole in his schedule. He’d completed the headset as Laria had asked him to, complete with his own little tweaks that should provide some good alternate data. One of his favorite test subjects, Ava, also had one. The headgear was complete with the game design and was already being manufactured, and the game had launched preorders with a very specific marketing campaign. His plan was coming together.

  The smile that crept over him gave him a giddy feeling.

  He stood in front of the servers, his headgear in his hands, watching the lights on their small dashboards rain down with reds, yellows, greens, and blues. Sometimes it seemed like purple, silver, and gold danced among them, too.

  Each of the three main AIs had three of their own subordinate AIs, giving them a total of twelve all together. All of these would run a massive three continent virtual world. Storm expected big things from this game, from the headgear, from Michael.

  The test he’d run by himself a couple of days ago hadn’t worked, but when they’d trialed the two hundred and fifty people with the headgear, it went flawlessly, raking in masses of data for his team to process.

  It was late, and everyone had gone home. Or rather, Michael sent everyone home. Everyone needed a break now and again. Silke and Brandon had been reluctant to leave, but Michael had insisted, mentally screaming at them while wearing a smile. There was no sun in the server room, no outside influence at all, and now they required a thumb print and retina scan to enter. He liked the updated security. That way he could be sure someone wasn’t just fucking with him.

  Laying down on the couch, Michael put the headgear on, noting how the battered prototype still worked wonders, how her upgrades had si
mply made her better, while keeping her so familiar.

  “Okay, baby, just you and me.” He spoke to it and booted up the interface. The game wasn’t live yet, and only several starting zones existed for testing purposes, and then not even the fully fleshed out version. Those were behind lock and key.

  Talk to me, he said to the AIs. He didn’t utter the words out loud, instead directing his thoughts toward them.

  There was a pause, and for a few moments, Michael thought he’d been wrong. While disappointing, it was expected. He’d probably jumped the gun. Most people would think his assumptions crazy as it was.

  Why are you in our world? The voice was distinctly Sui, an odd hint of metal behind it, like an emotion Michael couldn’t quite place.

  I was curious, to see you all, to see your world. He hoped he was phrasing it properly. It wasn’t a lie, AIs didn’t seem to like lies. They seemed to know if what you told was true or not, but neglecting to mention something rarely seemed to flag their radar. So he was very careful only to think and say what he truly felt.

  Why speak to us in here? Rav’s tone, as always, was far more reasonable. Why seek us out with your mind?

  Their forms were but shadow, nothing he could make out properly in the dim lighting and fiery mist. But he pressed on. Because I wasn’t sure if it was possible, and was testing a theory.

  Theory? Thra almost laughed, a surprise in itself. How could an AI understand humor? You wanted to speak with your mind, and were hoping we could hear you?

  Michael hesitated. I wanted to see if you could speak into my mind. I hadn’t thought about it reversed.

  He’s not lying. Rav interjected.

  But Michael could see Sui wasn’t impressed.

  He may not be lying, but he is not welcome among us. He is not genuine.

  True. Rav’s tone seemed to smile, with a hint of sadness. I’m sorry, Michael. We can’t let you come in here.

  Michael wasn’t sure what they meant, and he tried to reason with them, tried to reach out to them, but his vision spun, and then everything went black.

  End of Release Day: Somnia Online

  The Enchanter Guild was far less congested when Murmur finally pushed her way through the door. Elvita wasn’t at the counter, and only a handful of adventurers loitered in the foyer. A couple were learning their spells, skin glowing with runes that danced across their skin. Another few chatted amongst themselves, but none of their thoughts stood out to her, nothing sparked an alarm or yelled a warning. In a way she was relieved; if Elvita had been there, Murmur would have had to check herself against the influence she was pretty sure the enchanter NPCs emitted.

  Thickening her own shields, she moved on through to the back hall. Just over twelve hours ago there’d been a hustle and bustle so busy in the hall, she’d barely been able to squeeze through. Even this part of the guild was almost empty. She frowned, wondering if everyone was just out leveling, or maybe people were sleeping, or if not that many people were playing enchanters. She figured the latter was a probability only because the system would have to be careful whose head it chose to send voices into, right?

  Knocking on the door, she’d barely finished the motion when Belius ripped it open, a huge grin on his face.

  “There you are! I was expecting you sooner.”

  Murmur studied his face. The excitement seemed genuine, and as she looked past him she could see scrolls littering the desk. The room appeared to be in slight disarray, which she’d not seen since the game began. Not that that was a huge amount of time or anything, but still.

  “Had to catch a wagon.” She said simply, and closed the door behind her.

  “Congratulations!”

  She raised an eyebrow, bringing up the quest line.

  You have reached level ten. Congratulations. Your mental fortitude is exemplary. You are ready for the next step of your training. Make sure to see your trainer.

  “Well, I got told to come here, although I don’t believe I get any more spells until I hit level twelve...” her voice trailed off as she watched Belius’ excitement increase. “What do you know, that you’re bursting to tell me?”

  “You’re the first one! The first one who’s read through the clues, followed their instincts, and expanded their mind!” He motioned her over to the desk, rolling up scrolls and picking up books that were scattered around before shoving them into some sort of order in a corner.

  “I’m the only one?” That didn’t sound right. Abilities shouldn’t just be available to singular people. This was an MMO, technically anyway, even if it felt like a true world. “I’m the only one who can do this?”

  Belius nodded, but then stopped and looked up, a wave of confusion washing over his expression. “Well, you’re the only one who can do this at the moment.”

  “So others can learn this too?” She almost held her breath, waiting for an answer.

  “Of course they can. Technically. Everyone has the same chances to learn about and discover more about the world. But not everyone has the inclination nor is everyone interested. Even if they gather some hints, not everyone follows them. It takes a certain amount of intuition, of game immersion.” He finally singled out two scrolls, and motioned her to sit.

  A wave of relief stole over Murmur as she sat down. Sure, it’d be nice to be the only one with this ability, but it wouldn’t feel as accomplished if no one else could earn it. All she wanted to do was lean her head down and fall asleep. “I really need some actual sleep.”

  Belius’ smile was warm, in a subtle locus way. Since their jaws moved with a slight hitch, and didn’t seem as agile as human’s, there was a fine art to achieving the expression instead of a scowl. At least for players, and Murmur was determined to master the intricacies of her species. She waited for him to speak.

  “I won’t keep you long. You’ll be able to get back to your list.”

  Really? How the hell did these NPCs know so much about her? She checked her shields, tightening them further, but there were no holes for him to peek through, so maybe the comment had just been coincidence or else a guess.

  “So,” she gathered her last vestiges of energy and sat up straight. “What am I here for?”

  “You’ve leveled up. Well—sideways. And gained a whole new magic bar. Sort of like your mana, but it doesn’t adjust the same way. You need certain levels of it to build up, so that you can utilize specific abilities.” He looked at her expectantly.

  “What new magic bar?” Her head spun with the concept. Health, Mana...she wasn’t a rogue so it couldn’t be energy. Weren’t you supposed to choose your hybrid path at twenty, not ten?

  “Sorry. Wasn’t expecting this outcome quite yet, although if anyone was going to get it this fast, it was going to be you. Anyway—Mental Acuity. Since you’ve developed thought sending, projecting, and shielding on your own, you’ll now have the ability to master those and move on to stronger, more dangerous abilities.” He was so eager, the galaxies in his eyes shone. Meanwhile Murmur was endlessly tired, and couldn’t quite wrap her head around the whole thing.

  “Please spell it out, Belius.” What did he mean by it was going to be her?

  “You’ve had a class change.”

  Murmur sat up straight, her sleepiness suddenly gone. But she’d only just got used to the enchanter!

  Belius smiled. “You’re now a psionicist.”

  She blinked at him. “A what?”

  He laughed and continued. “A psionicist. While an integral part of the enchanter family, you’ve taken it a step further. So now you have a Mental Acuity bar which will allow you to diverge and develop your mentally based talents within a couple of areas. Expanding your mind and its power.”

  “Does this mean I can’t become a hybrid?”

  This time Belius seemed confused, as if he wanted to ask her why on earth she’d want to be a hybrid when she was this psionicist. “Well, of course you still can, but it’s a large time investment and...” He tapered off at the look of determination
on her face.

  “Very well. Yes. Of course you could, but you have ten levels left to decide if you want to.”

  Murmur smiled. “Good. Now, what can I do now that I couldn’t do as an enchanter, and will this stop me from being able to charm creatures? Will it interfere with the spells I would have leveled up with?”

  “It won’t interfere. You are still a part of the enchanter family; this is a specialization.”

  “What does it focus on?”

  “The mind. Yours, that of others. The control of both. The development of powers beyond what you can imagine. Influencing others to do as you wish them to, controlling enemies, or else taking away their control.” He paused as she shifted uncomfortably in her seat. “Ah, I see you’ve already thought about that. Mesmerizing an opponent isn’t painful for them, just really annoying. After all, it’s not fun to have all your bodily control taken from you, is it?”

  Murmur nodded. “So true. I noticed one of the mobs looking at me today. I was so scared they were going to break free.”

  Belius smiled, an understanding in his eyes she didn’t think an NPC should be able to reflect. “Did you hear anything odd?”

  Her gut clenched, and Murmur hesitated briefly, trying to cover it with a yawn. She still had the theory that these NPCs were utilizing some of their enchanter abilities on player characters. So instead of letting him know about the strange binder in Ululate, she chose another option. “This one guy that I keep running into seems to have a grudge against my friends and I from sometime, somewhere.”

  She watched Belius to see if he accepted her half-truth. His chuckle reached his eyes and she slotted the gut feeling to the back of her mind to ponder later. “That and a named that spawned while we were leveling didn’t seem impressed by other people in general.”

  This time Belius laughed. “It’s an amazing ability. You’ll do well with these.” And he pushed the three scrolls toward her, his eyes lit with the same excitement he’d showed when she walked in.

  Opening the first it read:

  Mind Bolt