The Metaverse: Virtual Life-Real Death

by William Kurth

  The agents followed Adams off the landing pad walking past the nose of the aircraft and forward on the yacht. They walked past a swimming pool with some women and a few men sunbathing along it.

  “Too bad you don’t have more time, Commander. You could enjoy the pools and Mr. Mathias’s hospitality.” Adams said.

  “Perhaps another time,” Argosi answered and continued to follow Adams through a glass sliding door which opened as they approached.

  Just inside was a Steward holding a silver tray of champagne flutes. Adams helped himself to one then turned to the group.

  “Please help yourself, gentlemen. It’s from Mr. Mathias’s vineyard. I think you will find it first rate.” Adams lifted his glass as if he were going to offer up a toast.

  “Unfortunately, it is against Bureau regulations to drink while on duty. I’m sure you understand.” Argosi said.

  Adams winked. “Well we won’t tell if you don’t.”

  Argosi stood stone-faced, which Adams seemed to have difficulty interpreting. You’re used to wining and dining people to impress them, but you don’t know how to deal with us. Do you?

  “Well, you gentleman make yourself at home here in the main salon. A Steward will show you into the dining area in a few minutes. In the meantime, please tell the bartender if you would like a beverage. Nonalcoholic or otherwise, while I go and inform Mr. Mathias that his dinner guests have arrived. He will be thrilled, I’m sure.”

  “I’m sure,” Argosi answered.

  Adams smiled, turned and left walking forward through the large salon and out a doorway.

  Argosi talked to his team on the secure comm. “I don’t know about you guys, but I am about out of patience with this guy. Any ideas gentleman on how we can get their attention that we are not here to fuck around?”

  “It’s a game that they’re playing. It’s their way of exercising power and control over us. Don’t let it get to you. That’s what they want.”

  “Maybe we should do something to upset their carefully choreographed meeting, one that appears to have more to do with wasting our time than anything to do with helping us.” Argosi paused for a moment thinking.

  “What options do we have to exercise our power? Surely with the massive amounts of money, courtesy of the U.S. Taxpayer that built a state of the art lab for the MCT. A lab that we are in fact inside of right now rather than this digital figment of some AE’s imagination. We must have some ability to control the events here?” Argosi asked.

  “It would be unprecedented, sir, and likely to cause some fallout. But we have a lot of options if you want to rock their world. Mr. Wu here, who as you know can be in both places, can take care of it from the lab.” Parker responded.

  “Make a plan. Let’s rock their world. Remind them who controls who.”

  Aboard The Pinnacle of the Seas, Horseshoe Isle Bay, Metaverse

  Argosi and his team had plenty of time to plan as they were kept waiting another forty minutes before, as Adams had indicated, a steward came into the room and announced that dinner would be served on the top sky deck. The four agents followed the steward through the same doorway that Adams had disappeared through earlier. The narrow passageway led to an area that opened into a spacious hexagon shaped area with a spiraling staircase leading both up and down to other decks. In the center was a glass elevator with the staircase wrapping around it. Looking up Argosi could see all the way to the top where a brightly colored skylight illuminated down the length of it.

  As they waited for the elevator to open on their deck, Argosi noticed another steward had exited from a large double-door forward of the staircase. Argosi caught a glimpse of what appeared to be a white tie dinner held in a formal dining room.

  A long table elegantly appointed was visible. A few people turned their heads to take note of Argosi and his group, an even amount of men and women all dressed in white tie attire and formal dresses. At the far end of the long table sat a man with blond hair and piercing blue eyes that met his. Argosi recognized him immediately from the pre-meeting brief. It was Mathias.

  Argosi chuckled to himself. No chance that it was random that door opened when we just happen to be standing here. The message was clear. Argosi’s time was subordinate to Mathias’s and less important, and he wanted to make a point of it.

  The elevator opened, and the group got in with the Steward. It went up several decks finally opening to a glass enclosure that led to an outside area. The breeze was refreshing as was the smell of the sea. The sound of the wind rustling through the taught canvas covering overhead providing shade for an elegantly set table. The table, chairs, and the deck itself constructed out of exotic teak wood, or at least the appearance of it; Argosi had to remind himself.

  Argosi leaned over the railing and faced the open sea. The sun was still well above the horizon, and the water was calm with just the slightest waves. A few sailboats were moving along cozily near the shore. Personal watercraft could be seen traveling about far more speedily. Argosi could see people on the beach. He hoped Wu’s calculations were correct and those people would not be affected by what they had planned, or there would be hell to pay.

  Around the table stood several Stewards who directed them to their seats at the table which had eight chairs around its oval shape. As soon as Argosi and the rest took their seats, a Steward leaned in and poured water into Argosi’s fine crystal glass.

  “Something from the bar, sir?” The steward cocked his head.

  “No, thank you.” Argosi stiffened.

  “As a matter of fact, we will not be eating nor drinking. We’ve already done that. While we were waiting.”

  “Sir? Did you eat below? I’m confused. I understood you are to be Mr. Mathias’s guests for dinner up here?”

  “No, you are mistaken we are not guests, and we are not here for dinner,” Argosi said, standing so quickly it startled the steward into taking a step back.

  The other agents followed suit and Argosi continued. “When I say that we ate while we were waiting, surely you understand that we are really not here? That we are actually and physically in the real world. This,” Argosi gestured to his surroundings “Is sort of like an elaborate conference call. We ate while Mr. Mathias kept us on hold if you will. Want to be useful? Remove the plates, the food, the glasses and the wine and bread and all the appetizers. You might also send someone to fetch Mr. Mathias.”

  Argosi narrowed his eyes at the stunned steward, who looked to the table captain. The officer gave a curt nod.

  All four of the stewards moved in and began to clear the items while the table captain went to the full bar and picked up the phone.

  “That should get someone’s attention. My money is that Adams will be up here in a moment to protest and act indignant.” Parker said over the secure comm.

  “I expect that he will. Wu, are you ready for Mr. Adams?”

  “Yes, Commander. I am.”

  “Very well. Let’s see how long before Mathias arrives. You’re the artificial intelligence expert Callum. Any insight on how he might respond?”

  “Sir, I think he will present an uninterested cool as a cucumber front. He’ll let his lawyer talk tough. I don’t know that it is possible to unnerve an AE, but his emotional algorithms will probably be going crazy trying to figure out where he is on the power curve regarding his interaction with us. Particularly you, sir.”

  “Elaborate on the power curve angle.”

  “Well, sir, you have been very unorthodox in rejecting his hospitality before ever meeting him. He is accustomed to politicians, federal officials and influential people from the business world kissing his ring so to speak. He has learned that people when being exposed to this kind of wealth and power, which extends outside of the Metaverse, often acquiesce to his needs. If there is a conflict, it is never at the outset of a relationship. I would use the word puzzled but that is not something that his digital mind will process. Rather I suspect that it will be a mixture of–” Callum was interrupted by t
he appearance of Adams.

  “Commander Argosi! The staff informs me that you had them clear the table? A table that your host has very graciously set for you, an honored guest here. I might remind you Mr. Mathias is a very busy person–”

  Argosi held up his hand which held a small clear acrylic cube two inches wide by two inches deep by four inches tall. Adams stopped speaking to stare at it.

  “Now, Mr. Wu,” Argosi said.

  A bright blue light emanated from the cube and expanded outward in a narrow beam towards Adams. The beam grew until it engulfed Adams completely who disappeared into it. The beam then collapsed back into the cube and extinguished itself with a bright flash of light.

  Adams had vanished from where he was standing and reappeared inside the cube; shrunk to a little less than three inches in size which elicited a quiet gasp from the stewards who had witnessed it. All of them except the table captain—who did not react—was an actual human according to Wu.

  Mathias liked the idea of being served by human beings, who were in turn supervised by an AE, according to the brief he received on the digital oligarch. The more Argosi got to know about the mysterious if not powerful Mr. Mathias, the more he had the feeling that he was at the least sympathetic to the extortion being committed by Alex Reynolds et al.

  Mathias himself, while never directly linked was purported to be behind some extortions in the past. More than any of that, however, was that Mathias goal was to waste their time and give them nothing in return. Argosi planned to change that calculus and do what he could to lean on Mathias to gain cooperation.

  ***

  Argosi lifted the cube to his eye. From Adams perspective Argosi was humongous. His eyeball alone was over half of Adams height. Adams pounded on the glass and shouted, but no one could hear him through the cube.

  “Oh, what must be going through your little digital mind,” Argosi said before putting down the cube with Adams inside it on the table. Adams could be seen on his phone gesturing wildly.

  That’s right. Call your master.

  “Commander Argosi. It seems that you wanted my attention. Now you have it, sir.”

  Argosi turned to see Mathias walking towards him, two assistants, or perhaps security personnel in tow. Mathias had changed from his formal dinner outfit into a casual light red polo shirt with white pants and white topsider shoes. The two with him, both AE’s Wu told him over the secure com were in dark suits; they followed side by side a step behind him.

  Argosi smiled as he spoke. “Edgar, it’s nice to talk to you directly finally.”

  Mathias stared at Argosi for a moment before speaking. “Edgar is usually how my friends address me, not public servants. I’m sorry, Commander, are we friends?”

  “As a matter of fact, Edgar, we are not.” Argosi took a long breath. “For us to be friends then you would have to be a real person.”

  “And yet here I am, Commander. Right in front of you.”

  Argosi took a step towards Mathias which made the two assistants also step forward, but they stopped when Mathias raised his hands.

  “No Edgar you are not in front of us. Quite the opposite, in fact.”

  “The opposite, Commander?

  “Yes, you are in my world. You, this vessel and this place...” Argosi extended his arms out, “Are but a figment of the collective imagination of humankind.”

  “Well, as much as I would enjoy debating who is imagining whom, I have a feeling that you came here for another reason. Perhaps you’re here to tell me that you have caught whoever has killed so many people. Most recently a trusted and valued employee of mine. Please tell me that. At least tell me what you are doing about it. I will be placing some phone calls later. I do hope that I can say to those very important people how helpful you have been.” Mathias said, smiling for the first time.

  “Where are my manners, of course. Please take a seat, Edgar.” Argosi motioned to a chair then took a seat himself.

  Parker, Wu, and Callum remained standing behind their boss.

  “Can I offer you a refreshment? The stewards will be glad to get you something.” Argosi added.

  Mathias was trying to process how this low paid public servant had hijacked his table, staff and the tempo of the meeting, he stood motionless for a moment, feeling different in an unfamiliar way.

  “Oh please sit, I insist,” Argosi said with a smile while motioning with his outstretched right hand towards the chair across the table from him.

  Mathias still trying to analyze what had happened found himself at a loss for words. He did a system scan. He did not have full control of his files, or his movement.

  They’ve attacked me directly I need to get out before they damage me, I need to reboot and purge. Mathias “thought.” Mathias more stumbled to his seat than anything else, something not lost on the three human stewards.

  “The FBI would be so grateful if you could make available for us any unusual financial transactions. As you must be aware sir, hundreds of millions of M-Dollars—close to fifty million real dollars—have gone from hundreds of thousands of subscribers of DLS to the extortionists. The Bank of St. Petersburg is the largest in the Metaverse with assets greater than all the other Metaverse banks combined. In the real world, it dwarfs many of the most major banks, especially in Europe. There is no way that transactions of the magnitude that have been taking place the last few days could not have gone through your bank. The fact of the matter is this Edgar, I don’t need a warrant. What has occurred is an act of terrorism and as such I have additional responsibilities and enhanced powers to safeguard lives and property.”

  Mathias completed his reboot from a remote location while listening to Argosi. He “felt” himself again. “Commander, I would so like to help in that regard, but I have a Board of Directors to report to and regulations to follow. And not the least, the trust of my customers to consider. If I simply released financial records at every request, they would move their assets elsewhere and rightly so. I can take this up with the Board and my lawyers–” Mathias shot Adams a look in his cube. “To see where we can be of help. Believe me when I tell you that we have a common goal here and I will do everything in my power to see that we will be of assistance where we can be.”

  Argosi smiled. “Well, Edgar, that sounds just terrific. I will be sending some agents to the bank tomorrow. If you will, please accommodate them with office space. They won’t need much room. Just access to transactions both in and out of the Metaverse offices and to and from the real world.”

  Mathias found himself at a loss of words. They are attacking me again!

  “Ah, Commander... the Board... must approve that sort of thing.”

  “I’m sorry. Do you need something to drink? Steward, get Edgar here a glass of water, would you?” Argosi motioned towards a water pitcher on the bar.

  The steward quickly came to the table with a crystal glass and filled it from a pitcher then set it down in front of Mathias who swatted it away. The glass fell to the teak wood and shattered. The agents remained stoic as did the table captain, but the other attendants were clearly startled by their very powerful employer displaying such uncharacteristic actions. The two security officers, while not visibly startled seemed unsure of what to do as they waited while their boss had his “moment.”

  Mathias completed another reboot and was himself again. “I don’t know what kind of game you are playing here, but your superiors will be hearing from my attorney–”

  Argosi picked up the cube with Adams inside of it and shook it until he fell to his knees. “This attorney here?” Before Mathias could respond, Argosi asked him another question. “Do you believe in magic?”

  “What does the belief in some nonexistent supernatural power have to do with me or with this discussion?”

  “Everything, Edgar. Everything.” Argosi let his words hang there for a moment.

  Mathias broke the silence. “Enlighten me.”

  “Why, I thought you would never ask.” Argosi smiled.
“Take any advanced technology and demonstrate it to primitive people who are unaware of its existence or capabilities and well, it would look like magic to them.”

  “Am I primitive to you? I could make a counter argument that reverses that premise, and rather convincingly so.” Mathias chuckled and waved at his assistants standing behind him, who laughed as well.

  “Well, this is where it gets kind of weird. You are not a primitive program. I would say being, but I want to be accurate. What is technology to me, and to humans like me, is magic to you.”

  “How so?”

  Another empty cube appeared on the table between Mathias and Argosi. Mathias stared at it then at Argosi. “Do you mean to cage me, Commander? Do you think it can hold me?”

  Argosi leaned in and picked up the cube which filled with the same light as before but stayed contained in the cube then extinguished itself with a flash. When it was done Mathias’s yacht came into view suspended in the middle of the cube. Argosi held the cube between him and Mathias.

  “Edgar, what you don’t understand is that I already have you in a cage.”

  Argosi rolled the cube until the yacht was inverted. As he did so the horizon, the sea, the islands and beaches and mountains off to the port side tilted and moved into the vertical before rotating above them. The yacht was upside down now. The humans on board screamed. One after another they began to eject from their H-Pods fearing that some major malfunction was occurring at the least or the killers were striking at the worst. The human stewards did the same, one by one disappearing, leaving only the table captain. Even to Argosi, Parker and Callum, who knew what was coming, it was unnerving. Wu was unaffected, as always.

  Mathias’s eyes darted around and then up to where the sky should have been. The sea stretched out over him, the islands with their mountain tops pointing downward. Mathias sat back and folded his arms across his chest.