The Metaverse: Virtual Life-Real Death

by William Kurth

  Callum’s look spoke volumes about his ability to respond right now to a robbery in progress, hostage situation or some other high-risk incident. That’s going to change now that I’m here. He wondered if Callum even had a sidearm under his coat jacket. Fortunately, the telltale bulge was there. Besides, Callum was fresh enough not to be that “salty,” Argosi hoped.

  “Commander, I uh don’t think that you will need any of those things in your position, especially the in-world investigations.”

  Argosi walked to the right-hand front door. “Agent Callum you are the second person who has told me that today.” Argosi opened his door and sat down, letting Callum take manual control of the car. At least the kid likes to be somewhat hands on; I can work with that.

  Callum sped through the streets to the regional headquarters that housed all his units predominantly the Metaverse Investigative Unit as well as the technical side that supported it, the reason he had to race up here.

  On the drive over Argosi grilled Callum about what he knew about the Sullivan chainsaw murder which turned out to be not much more than what Argosi read earlier in the news. That wasn’t all that surprising. The local police in Boulder had responded to and handled the initial call and crime scene. But Argosi was surprised to learn that neither Callum nor any of the other team members had physically visited the crime scene in the two days since it occurred.

  “Agent Callum, am I to understand that this murder, which we have investigative responsibility for, has yet to have any of our people out to the crime scene?”

  “Um, yes sir, that would be technically correct; however, we have interfaced with the Boulder PD, seen all of their videos as well as views of the scene and have a catalog of collected evidence and forensics as well as all reports and statements.”

  Callum turned to look at Argosi who sat with his arms crossed against his chest staring back at him with no hint of emotion on his face. Argosi’s body language spoke volumes to the young agent who knew enough to shut up.

  When it was evident to Argosi that Callum was done talking, he growled.

  “So the answer then, Agent Callum, is that no one from the office has canvassed the crime scene?”

  “Yes, sir. That would be correct, sir.” Callum felt as if he were back at the academy answering a no-win question.

  “Fucking amazing,” Argosi said under his breath, but loud enough for Callum to hear.

  The young agent decided that this was a good time to be seen and not heard. The rest of the drive to HQ was quiet with both men deep in thought, but about different things.

  Argosi wondered if his lack of food intake was causing him to be more irritable than normal while Callum wished someone else more senior was here to answer the Commander’s questions.

  The government sedan slowed as it approached the regional HQ. A multi-story building no doubt made of thick reinforced concrete, the red brick mostly being decorative but offering additional protection. A tall wrought iron fence with reinforced concrete pillars every few meters ringed the whole facility including a couple of outbuildings that looked like oversized garages. Razor sharp wrought iron loops lined the top.

  Argosi knew that other systems and sensors would keep not just the crazies out but even a dedicated assault force. The HQ building itself was in the center of the rectangular fence with parking areas on one side and a grassy park-like area with trees and other vegetation that went around the remaining part of the building. A road just inside the fence separated it from the grassy area. All of this was to create a significant standoff distance from the public streets around the facility. Necessary design features since the advent of truck bombs.

  Callum pulled into a gate marked “Authorized Personnel Only.” A security barrier lowered when he presented his credentials in the window. The automated system also interrogated the passenger and even though Argosi had not raised his credentials to the window, it nonetheless established a link with them, identifying Argosi quickly.

  Callum drove to one side of the building which looked to Argosi to be hardened and fortress-like. There were plenty of windows none of which looked like they opened.

  Blast proof. Argosi also noted, sure that the building itself could be over-pressurized to keep out all the nasty nuclear, biological and chemical (NBC) stuff.

  Callum turned the vehicle onto a downward angled ramp leading to an underground parking structure. After holding his credential up again, the thick steel door rolled up.

  “Here we are, Commander,” Callum spoke his first words in the last 10 miles as he pulled into a numbered space.

  “By the way, this is your space and your car, sir.”

  Argosi nodded and exited the car and went to the trunk where he grabbed his “tactical purse” and his go-bag easily hefting it onto his shoulders.

  Callum closed the trunk. “This way, please.”

  After climbing a set of stairs and going through another security door, Argosi followed the young man into the lobby. A few people sat or stood waiting to be fetched by an agent or another member of the Bureau.

  Argosi was relieved to see two real life human beings behind a security station complete with ballistic glass. Argosi recognized the two, one a female, as being part of the Bureau’s Uniformed Police Division. It was evident to Argosi that both did not spend a lot of time in-world. Each one looked like they could handle themselves well enough. Their appearance told him more. The highly-polished belts, perfect creases of their shirts and a no-nonsense demeanor. That visual would not be lost on anyone trying to challenge them—they had their shit together.

  Even though both recognized Callum, they did not recognize Argosi. Both took note of the sidearm Argosi had despite his Bureau training uniform and the gold badge adjacent to his weapon in addition to the large black bag and the smaller one he carried. The average person would not have noticed the quick eye movement that took Argosi in, while still scanning the other people in the lobby rather than getting focused on his gun. Situational awareness. That’s good.

  Argosi almost smiled as both, using very subtle movements that would have gone unnoticed by an untrained eye, positioned their gun hands a little differently now. Not just closer to the grip of the firearm like they now were. But also in the muscle tension of each. Like a sprinter in anticipation of the start signal. Lastly, they both angled themselves. Bladed was the term. Slightly towards their target, the yet unidentified armed man in front of them. That position placed their gun hand and arm slightly behind them out of range of being grabbed while their profiles made them smaller targets. Just like at the range. Argosi smiled.

  Even though Callum went in and out of the facility all the time he still had to present his credentials to the officers when using this entrance. Authenticated by a scanner built into the countertop that also required Callum to place his fingertips on, while a light beam, invisible to the human eye, bounced off his retina in a millisecond. Those three steps done in less than a second allowed Callum to pass through the ballistic glass encased turnstile.

  Argosi did the same thing now and was admitted. As he came through the rotating glass door, both officers came to meet him, with a more relaxed demeanor.

  “Officers Duran and King, meet Commander Dominic Argosi, our new chief,” Callum said as both stepped forward to shake his hand.

  “Welcome aboard, sir.”

  King echoed Duran. “Anything that you need, sir, just let us know.”

  “I will.” Argosi firmly shook each officer’s hand and resisted the temptation to take King up on his offer by having him school Callum in Command Presence and basic Officer Safety.

  After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Callum lead Argosi to a bank of elevators. On the way up Callum explained that Argosi could use his credentials to access this elevator directly to or from the parking level, but he had taken him through the lobby to meet some of the troops. Argosi was glad that he did. A twinge of regret about how he’d been treating the young, naïve agent kept him silent.
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br />   When the elevator opened on the fourth and top floor, Callum led Argosi through another door. This one requiring authentication, and into an area with offices along one wall and a large briefing area with television screens opposite them.

  After passing a conference room, Callum showed Argosi his office, still quite obviously Stezno’s office. Behind the desk was a middle-aged woman in a yellow pantsuit placing things in boxes. She looked at Callum and Argosi over the top of her reading glasses and spoke before they did.

  “I don’t know what is in the bags you have there, but you can take it right back out. I’m only packing up the former commander’s files and personal items. Not all the toys and crap that the Bureau issued her. That stuff is your problem. Don’t make it mine.”

  Callum suppressed a grin. “Uh, Susan, this is Commander Dominic Argosi, the new chief. He’s replacing Commander Stezno. Commander, this is Susan Pearson, your administrative assistant.”

  Pearson stood up straighter to get a better look dropping her glasses and letting them hang from the cord. She gave him the once-over before speaking.

  “That would be Deputy Chief Stezno, Agent Callum.”

  “Of course, ma’am. She’s a deputy chief now,” Callum responded.

  She’s going to be a great gatekeeper. Argosi stared at Callum, who just studied his shoes.

  Pearson held her chin up. “Commander, I’ll tell you the same thing I told DC Stezno when she arrived. I have all my time in with the federal government and can retire anytime I want. I’m here because I want to be here. I don’t have to be here. I don’t get coffee. I don’t pick up your dry cleaning and I don’t put up with crap from agents that I have more accumulated hours in the lady’s room than they have on the job.”

  She shot Callum a glance. “I handle all the payroll, scheduling, and filing and any other administrative task that you ask me to. Even though we are ninety-percent paperless, the ten-percent that isn’t is still a shit load. If you need a file ask me for it. Don’t go rummaging through my area and make a mess. If any of that isn’t to your liking, just let me know. I’m sure Agent Callum here will fill in just fine.” She shot another glance at Callum, who still studied his shoes, before crossing her arms and emitting her first smile.

  Argosi barred his teeth right back. “Oh, I think we will get along just fine, Susan.”

  “We’ll see, Commander. We’ll see.”

  With that, Argosi’s administrative aide went back to placing things in boxes before looking back up and adding.

  “You can throw your bags over against the wall; no one is allowed in here other than me. When I’m not here the door is locked, only you and I have access, and I’m sure by now you have seen how secure the rest of the building is.”

  “I have, and that works for me. We’ll leave you to your job.” Argosi focused on the peaks of the Rocky Mountains in the far distance through the large windows behind his desk. Well, my desk when Susan there says I can have it.

  Susan nodded and answered presciently. “Give me another two hours and I’ll be done.”

  “Callum, why don’t you show me around the rest of the building?”

  Callum was glad to get away from the woman who ran things around here. Well, at least the day-to-day things, remembering that Argosi was still in charge of the big picture. “Right this way, Commander.”

  New Polis, Metaverse

  MD felt the gentle tapping on his left wrist where his digital device interfaced into his shirt cuff, a screen that mirrored what was on his phone. It took several seconds for him to wake up completely. He looked out to see the mid-afternoon sun in the large windows. The world a beehive of activity far below him on the streets and sidewalks to say nothing of the dozens and dozens of tall skyscrapers all around.

  It took him another second or two to take in his surroundings as he looked around the great room of the penthouse. MD rubbed his eyes, which caused a temporary blurriness as his eye lenses remoistened his pupils. The eyes were the most challenging part of the SecondSkin interface. The great room came back into view at a lower resolution initially. In another second everything was in sharp focus. MD was fully awake now.

  How long was I out?

  The tapping at his wrist persisted. He glanced down at the small screen and saw that he was getting a call. It was Alex. MD tapped the screen on his wrist to open the line.

  “Hello, Alex.”

  “Good afternoon, Mr. Swanson.”

  MD used a second alias in-world. Here he was known as Jack Swanson. Jack was a nickname for John, MD’s given name. He never used that nickname in the real world, so he decided that it was as good as any. Swanson was just a name he picked at random. Even Alex did not know his true identity. This alias was to keep everything compartmentalized.

  If Jack Swanson was identified here in the Metaverse as being behind the payment demands or other crimes he could simply disappear. But if Mr. Glenn Richards came up they might be able to trace that name to the pod facility his physical body resided in. That would require a much more challenging disappearing act, best to keep different aliases.

  Tapping an icon on the same screen he had opened Alex’s call from, MD brought up his privacy controls. They appeared as a transparent menu in his field of view visible only to him. He tapped the tab marked “PVCN,” an abbreviation for private conversation.

  This application would keep Derek or anyone else that might be nearby from hearing anything he said. The realism of the Metaverse was such that just like the real world when you talked you produced “sound” that others around you could hear.

  That wasn’t just limited to voice communication. It could be the tapping of a pencil on a surface or the squeak of a chair. Or your footsteps as you walked depending on the surface, type of shoes and whether or not you took heavy steps or lighter ones.

  In private conversation mode, your communication to a designated person was muted to others. When the link was active, your mouth would not form words or other expressions about that conversation.

  It was a convenient feature in the Metaverse, as you did not have to find a private place to talk necessarily. You could just do it with the tap of a button. In fact, if you wanted to you could hold a conversation with one person, say in a restaurant, while unbeknownst to him or her you were carrying on another conversation via phone with someone else.

  You could always hear the other person, but they could not hear you unless you looked at their name hovering transparently in your field of view. When you looked at it, a link became established, and the person’s name or names, if it were a conference call, would turn red indicating that you were live with that person and muted all other vocal noise or the movement of the mouth that would correspond to it. Of course, your appearance in the form of your avatar would not just freeze up; it would act naturally. It took some practice, but it was no different than having a conversation with more than one person say sitting at a table where you generally would make eye contact with while addressing them.

  Because it took away from the emersion experience and reminded you that everything around you was digital, it wasn’t available in all places depending on the realism levels required of the establishment. Indeed, when in your home or walking on the street or riding in a cab you could.

  “I’ve seen some of the news reports; you have become quite the celebrity both in-world and out.”

  “Yes, that seems to be the case. Unfortunately, however, that has not transferred into more than a dozen or so subscriptions for our service as of yet.”

  MD had instructed Alex to be discreet. A smile crossed his face at how well he was doing. MD had such appreciation for these Digital Sentient Beings. Superior life forms. Independent and always learning. So much more on par with his intellect than the hordes of biological beings who migrated to the Metaverse with no idea how it worked, let alone how they even arrived in it.

  MD had come to think of most humans as lower level life forms. That was not a moral judgment. It had to
do with their shrinking curiosity about the world around them. Content to be online and in contact with others not in a physical sense but a digital one. Humans were aspiring to be what digital life forms like Alex and all the other DSB’s and third tier AE’s were. The irony is lost on most of them.

  “Not to worry, Alex. This is not unlike any other endeavor. Things will be slow at first until word gets out. We just need to stick to our marketing plan.”

  A murdering plan is a more apt description.

  “Yes, Mr. Swanson. You are probably correct. I am preparing for the next product demonstration as we speak.”

  “Excellent. Are you in the downtown office now?”

  “That’s correct, sir.”

  “Great. Tell you what, I’ll head over there, and we can meet personally. You can show me what you have and we can discuss timelines, etc.”

  “Very well, Mr. Swanson. I look forward to seeing you in a short while.”

  “See you then, Alex.” MD ended the call.

  Most everyone doing a full or intermediate emersion accessed the Metaverse via Digital-Life’s servers, hardware or software. MD wasn’t surprised that few if any customers of Digital-Life had paid. Although MD hadn’t seen all the press releases, he felt sure that Digital-Life was busy assuring its customers that the murder of Dr. Sullivan occurred at the hands of a deranged killer and had nothing to do with any of their systems.

  MD expected that most people would think that it was a hoax, even though a real person died. That victim physically cut in half with a chainsaw gave the impression that the killer or killers would have to enter your home to do harm to you. That while the Metaverse enhanced and publicized the murder, it was not central to the crime itself. People could still safely enter it without needless worrying about their safety. All reinforced by statements from Digital-Life who would be encouraging its customers to continue to enter into and experience the Metaverse as they always have. No need to panic and effect the bottom line. MD knew where the corporate officer’s concern would lie.