by D. B. Goodin
“Ralphie, get ready for school. We are already late!” Ellen said.
Ralphie just continued to play his game.
“Turn it off now!” Ellen screamed.
Ralphie immediately turned his system off. He had never seen his mother this upset.
“I have enough trouble with your brother. If these games are too much of a distraction, I will take them away.”
“Sorry, Momma,” Ralphie said in a weak voice. Ralphie was already dressed and ready to go, so Ellen didn't have to wait long.
The arguments between Nigel and his mother were almost a daily occurrence, so Ralphie used the yelling time to get ready. He usually had some time to play a round or two of Kenny Kart before school. This morning, he had played at least a half dozen by the time Ralphie grabbed his lunch box.
“Get in the car now. We’re late,” Ellen demanded.
Both boys jumped in without saying a word. Ralphie didn't like it when his mother was upset, especially if it was directed at him. Her high-pitched voice seemed to go up a notch or two if she didn't get immediate results, so Ralphie usually listened the first time.
Nigel sat in the back of Mr. Levinson’s class, as usual, and connected to the creative thinking private network. Nigel had to be quick, before Mr. Levinson arrived. Wi-Fi access in the classroom was a bit spotty. Nigel thought it had something to do with the wire mesh that covered the walls and ceiling of Mr. Levinson's class.
As other students started entering, Nigel noticed Jet; she waved at him as she sat a row up and a couple seats to the left. It was rare for a girl like Jet to like hacking. He thought her AI idea was one of the most innovative projects in the class. Nigel's eyes drifted back to the computer screen. He launched the text-replacer program modification and minimized its window so no one would notice. He was determined to level Jake's character while in Mr. Levinson's class. Risky move, he thought, but the stakes were already high with Jake. He started sweating just thinking about it.
Just as the last student arrived, Mr. Levinson entered the room with a cup of coffee.
“Sorry I'm late, class,” Mr. Levinson said as he began closing the door with his free hand. “Screens down.”
The sound of laptops clicking closed could be heard throughout the classroom. Unfortunately, Nigel's reaction time was a bit slow. He was in the middle of setting up several controls to help mask his movements so Mr. Levinson wouldn't notice his network activity during class. Mr. Levinson was staring at him, the only student who hadn't closed the lid of his laptop. Out of the corner of his eye, Nigel noticed Jet silently mouthing the word “DOWN.”
Seconds later, he shut his laptop.
“Well then,” Mr. Levinson said. “Now that Mr. Watson has finally decided to obey class rules, I think he should start our daily show-and-tell session. What do you think, class?” Mr. Levinson didn't wait for a response before he continued. “Mr. Watson, you have fifteen minutes to convince me not to throw you out of my class.”
Nigel's mouth ran dry; his hands were trembling slightly.
“NOW,” Mr. Levinson barked.
Nigel slowly gathered his laptop and charger.
“I have no available outlets here, Mr. Watson. I trust that your battery will last for at least fifteen minutes.”
Nigel thought he saw a slight grin on his face as he approached the front of the classroom. Nigel felt flushed, his heart raced, and he was starting to sweat. He was not prepared to show the class his project.
The game was still running the screen session in the background. If the program got interrupted now, then Jake's character would probably die, and he would lose whatever he had in his game inventory. If he didn't resurrect his character within ten minutes, all of that character's worldly possessions would spill all over the dead avatar in the game world. Nigel worked too hard to let this happen; he needed to log out of the game gracefully.
Before connecting his laptop to the class projector, he quickly pressed a series of keys. Two Dire Wolves had decided to make a meal of one of Jake’s character’s legs. Normally, Dire Wolves had only a few dozen hit points and could be dispatched with a few whacks of a sword, but Jake’s character was badly injured. Nigel had only one or two moves before the wolves would kill and eat their prey. He decided to move decisively. With a few keystrokes, he was able to summon an apocalypse spell that killed both wolves instantly; however, that meant certain denizens of the dark plane were made aware of these actions. The calculated risk of killing an imminent threat brought consequences. Nigel would need to deal with those consequences later, as there was another more imminent threat to worry about.
Nigel was glad he was in the habit of taking notes in his favorite presentation program. He hoped he would look more prepared than he felt. He opened the presentation program and sent the output to the projector. The words “Project Chaturanga” appeared.
Nigel began talking about the inspiration for the project and why it was an important research project. He briefly discussed the history of Deep Blue, one of the first computers to beat Chess Champion Garry Kasparov. This was one of the first practical uses of artificial intelligence in modern computing. Nigel scanned the room for signs of interest. He noticed that Jet was fixated on his presentation, hanging on every word. Mr. Levinson also looked intrigued.
“The aim of the project is to apply modern machine learning concepts to the game of chess,” Nigel continued. “Machine learning makes it possible for technology like artificial intelligence to exist. Think of machine learning as the fuel that drives artificial intelligence. The goal is to have the computer use machine learning to try to figure out what a human might do.”
Nigel closed with, “Thank you for your time, class.”
At the beginning of the presentation, Nigel was bordering on panic, but now he felt elated.
“We can't wait to see your working prototype two Fridays from now, Mr. Watson,” Mr. Levinson said.
Nigel didn't dare reopen his laptop until he was safely away from Mr. Levinson's class. He dreaded logging back in to Jake's account; he had no idea what he was going to find. He had made a bold move casting that spell. When Nigel leveled up a character for a client, he always tried to have an exit strategy for when things in the game got dicey. For Jake, that spell scroll was a lifesaver—and a risky one, at that.
“Hey, Bonehead!” Jake bellowed the moment Nigel left Mr. Levinson’s. “Where's my stuff? I want to access my account already!”
Nigel had temporarily changed Jake's password so he would experience minimal interference when power-leveling Jake.
“It’s taking a little longer than expected,” Nigel said.
“Well, I better have access by the end of the day, or else.”
Six Hours Later
Nigel's cell phone rang, and he immediately recognized the number.
“Needlenose!” cried Jake. “Your head is about to meet my fist!”
“What’s the matter?” Nigel squeaked.
“My account has been frozen. I just got an email about it! If you don't get my account unlocked or provide a new one by tomorrow, you're in big trouble!” Jake hung up.
Nigel checked his messages; there was an email forwarded from Jake.
Chapter 3
Nigel started to sweat as he read the message.
Greetings Jacob,
We regret to inform you that your account has been put under a temporary suspension pending an investigation. Our anti-fraud system has detected the use of more than one account with an identical source Internet Protocol (IP) address. As a precaution, we have deactivated both accounts in question. If you can prove that the other account is yours, then both accounts will be restored once proof has been submitted. However, it may take three to five business days to verify and to completely restore your account. Please provide two of the following forms of identification to prove your identity.
Driver's license
Utility bill
Credit card statement
Mortgage
bill
Once proof is provided, our customer support staff may need additional verifiable information.
Regards,
Your Friends at Pretzelverse Games
Nigel felt like he had a bowling ball in his throat. The account wasn't hacked; Nigel was caught logging in to more than one account from the same IP address. Although this was not good news, it was far from devastating. At least he had a chance to set things right. Jake was eighteen but might as well be a minor; proving his identity was going to be a bit tricky. Nigel had to think of a good way to convince the customer service people at Pretzelverse to unlock the account.
He immediately called Jake.
“Hello?” Jake answered.
“Hi, Jake.”
“Is my account unlocked?”
“I just wanted to say how sorry I am to delay your—”
“I want a discount for this,” Jake cut him off. “I'm thinking that free is a fair price. You owe me $150 plus subscription costs. Otherwise, I'm going to be taking that out of your ass.”
Nigel was speechless. He had spent the better part of two weeks working on Jake’s account. Plus, he already spent the money; there was no way he could recover from that.
“I want my account and the money by the end of tomorrow or there will be hell to pay.” Jake hung up.
“Wait!”
Nigel had to ask him if he had a valid driver's license. He called Jake again. After a few rings, he heard an audible click and silence. After another few attempts, he was greeted with a prerecorded message, “Your caller is blocking all calls from your number.”
Nigel threw his phone across the room. It hit his corkboard at the far end of the room, then fell to the floor with an audible thump.
Nigel would make Jake listen to reason. He needed a copy of his driver's license. He grabbed his bike and started pedaling north down Sycamore Lane.
Nigel had to squint as he rode into the sunset. When Nigel arrived on Front Street, where he thought Jake lived, he shivered as a cold autumn breeze blew across his neck.
Just a few weeks ago, Jake said he wanted a big brute of a character that would wield a big axe and cast spells as fast as a wizard.
“You can’t have a character like that.”
“Why the hell not?”
“The game doesn’t work that way. There are limitations and balance issues to consider,” Nigel reasoned.
The game was not limited to predetermined profiles (or classes). Points were awarded for completing quests in the game, or by interacting with the world, other players, and objects. Most games relied on experience points from killing things, but The Colossal Machine also rewarded players by doing something that contributed to the world in general. For example, if a character saved another from falling off a cliff or helped another character slay a monster, points would be awarded depending on the difficulty of the task.
Another monitoring system was in place to help combat cheating. If the system detected a large number of repetitive tasks, Game Player Managers (or G.P.M.s) would be summoned to investigate. Other automated systems detected suspicious activity, such as logging on from different IP addresses within a short period of time.
Most of the game's security measures were not public knowledge, but that didn’t stop rumor and fan sites from deconstructing everything about the game. Nigel knew these sites well. Pretzelverse was known to fiercely guard their intellectual property, and takedown notices were sent every day to offending fan sites. A large number of these sites wouldn’t comply since they were in countries where intellectual property laws didn’t exist.
Nigel arrived at Jake's house, confirmed by his mother’s battered Dodge Caravan Nigel recognized from school. The original paint job appeared to be maroon, but the car sported several unpainted black sections. Nigel parked his bicycle behind the patchwork that was the Caravan, then proceeded up the steep driveway toward the house.
A strong sense of dread came over Nigel as he rang the doorbell. As soon as he pressed the button, he immediately regretted it. He felt like running back to the safety of his bicycle. He noticed movement out of the corner of his eye. A dirty-looking curtain was being pulled aside, then was quickly closed. A few moments later, the door swung open and a rather formidable-looking Jake was standing there with his fists clenched.
“What are you doing here, Bonehead?” Jake yelled.
“Do you have a driver's license?” Nigel asked.
Jake seemed surprised by the question. “It's none of your business.”
“It became my business the moment you hired me to level up your character.” Nigel surprised even himself with his bold words. “Pull up that email from Pretzelverse.”
As Jake whipped out his phone, Nigel went on to explain that a driver's license was proof that Jake owned the account and he needed to provide a copy to unlock his account.
“So, if I provide a copy of my license, I can get my knight back?” asked Jake.
“Yes,” Nigel said excitedly. “Can I come inside?”
“No!” Jake snapped. “My mom is inside, and I'm not supposed to be playing games.” As if on cue, Jake's mother appeared.
“Jacob,” his mother said. Nigel recognized her as Martha, his mother’s former co-worker. “I didn't realize you had company.”
“He is not my friend,” Jake said.
“Then who is he?” Martha demanded.
When Jake didn't immediately answer, Nigel said, “Tutor! I'm teaching Jake critical thinking skills.”
Jake started, “Critical wh—?”
Nigel interrupted him. “Critical thinking skills are necessary for kids to learn subjects faster and with more depth. The ability for someone to think critically is important for today's job market.”
“Oh, that sounds wonderful,” Martha said. “Jacob, aren't you going to invite your guest in?”
“Uh...yeah, Ma.”
“Great, I think we should work with your computer since there are a lot of great critical thinking sites I want to show you. Lead the way!” prompted Nigel.
Nigel followed Jake into his bedroom. As soon as the door was closed, Jake gave Nigel a big push.
“What was that for?”
“For making me look stupid in front of my ma,” Jake said. “You basically said that I didn't know how to think.”
“I had to say something to justify my presence since you blurted out that I wasn’t your friend. And it worked. So now that we’re here”—Nigel gestured toward the computer—“we should get that suspension removed. Shall we?”
Twenty minutes later, the task was done. Nigel helped Jake scan and upload his license. Jake received an email a minute or two later stating that Pretzelverse needed additional verification information, such as a utility bill, to help unlock his account. A driver's license was just one of the steps needed to complete the verification process.
The two stared at the email on Jake's monitor for what seemed like an eternity.
“Not a big deal. Can you get a copy of your electric bill, perhaps from your mother's desk?” Nigel asked.
“No! I'm not going through my ma's things for you. There has to be another way.”
“I don't think there is.”
Without warning, Jake started pounding on Nigel. Nigel yelled in pain as he took another blow to his chin. Nigel did his best to protect himself, but Jake was much stronger and just kept pounding.
After a minute—an eternity to Nigel—Jake threw him against the door and yelled, “Go! Get out of here. Don't let my mother see you!”
Nigel stumbled out of the house, holding his side. Nigel tried to ride home, but the pain was unbearable, so he resorted to walking his bike the rest of the six blocks home.
Shortly after Nigel arrived home, he discovered that Jake's account wasn't the only account that was locked. His account was also.
The Colossal Machine was rated Mature (M), for ages seventeen and up. The company had been making recent efforts to stop teenagers, including requiring ad
ditional account verification when an account looked suspicious and locking accounts. To get around the age problem, Nigel fashioned an online persona of a college student, age twenty-three, who attended a local university. Nigel needed to fabricate matching documents, find someone who could, or risk losing his account forever.
Sitting in a small café, Len checked out the source code for the custom BOT program that he developed called Dark Glider. The purpose of Dark Glider was to help players with repetitive tasks within Pretzelverse's The Colossal Machine. Although The Colossal Machine was a giant sandbox where players from around the world could interact socially, there was a lot of structured content as well. For a player to explore the depths of a cavernous maze or navigate a jungle river, they needed to acquire skills, knowledge, and resources through prerequisite quests.
Len had spent many weeks perfecting the code that composed Dark Glider, and he had received a lot of praise in the beta testing stage. People were able to level characters and access adventure content in a fraction of the time. The café would be closing soon, so he needed to work quickly.
Len needed to launch the initial program before the expansion came out. According to his rough calculations, he figured he had at least a few weeks before that happened, perhaps longer. Normally, it would take one programmer more than a year to get a project of this size and scope off the ground. While Len was a good programmer, he had a day job, so he hired two additional programmers from an online working site called VDesk, one for the networking interface and another to hook into the game engine.