Project Alpha

by R. A. Mejia

  “No, I can’t read your thoughts. It’s the question most people have when they travel through a portal for the first time. Your second question is likely, ‘what’s a portal?’”

  Well, my second question was actually ‘How the fuck do I get back?’. But it's good to know she’s not telepathic. Plus, ‘what’s a portal?’ is a much better question. So, I nod.

  “A portal is an intentional tear in the space-time continuum that allows for instantaneous transportation of matter from one place to another.” Lillian pulls the set of keys out of her pocket again and jingles them in front of me. She takes the silver key she inserted into the storage room and holds it up. “This key will transform any door into a portal to my home base. In my case, that means this office. I’m the only one who can use this key. Each person who’s part of the System can get one and only one of these types of keys. It’s a safety measure to ensure that everyone has a place they can be safe, rest, and recuperate.”

  Lillian pulls open a desk drawer and pulls out another key, this one bronze. She tosses it on the desk in front of me. “Normally you have to buy these from the System, but since I’m so nice, you can have this one for free.”

  I lean forward and pick up the key, holding it in my hand. It doesn't feel any different from any other key I’ve ever used. But just as I’m about to put it back on the desk, a blue screen pops up.

  You’ve received an unbound home base key. Would you like to bind it to your person?

  I stare at the blue screen. So, Lillian was telling the truth. This little key has some sort of ability that modern science doesn’t. “What does it mean, ‘bind it to me’?”

  Lillian gives a small shrug and a little dismissive wave of her hand. “That just means that no one can steal it from you and even if you die and respawn, it will stay with you.”

  Her statement about dying catches my attention, and I look up from the blue screen. A single look at her impassive expression assures me that the mention of death wasn’t a threat but was just the way she saw the world. I’m still curious how blue screens or a key could kill me and ask, “Die? Why would I die?”

  Lillian puts her hands up and sighs. She then opens another desk drawer, pulls out a thin book and holds it out for me. I take the book and see that it’s titled, ‘The Idiot’s Guide to the System. Vol. 1.’

  “That’s a primer on what the System is and a lot of the new things you’ll have to start to learn now that you’re a part of it. A nice gentleman in Sweden makes it.”

  I open book and look at some of the chapter titles. What is the System?, Interface Options, Your Character Sheet, Social, Skills, Abilities, Inventory, Combat, Respawn, Portals, Dungeons. I close the book for now. But there are more chapters; I’m sure I’ll have time to look through it later. Instead, I consider what I’ve been told. Blue screens, portals, respawns? The more information I get, the more confused I seem to become.

  I look up at Lilian and ask, “What is all this? First, it was the dream with the slime. Then it was the blue boxes that told me I learned new skills. Now portals and this book that reads like it’s some video game manual?”

  Lillian smirks, “Yes. In a lot of ways, the System is set up like a video game. But don’t think that’s what it is.” Lillian puts her hand out and taps the air like she’s selecting something. A can of soda appears on the desk in front her, and she nods towards me, “You want something to drink?”

  I stare at the suddenly appearing drink and shake my head. “No. But I’d like some of those answers that you promised me.”

  She taps the air again, and the soda can disappears. Lillian looks at me, and I feel her icy blue eyes judging me. She nods once, acknowledging my request. “That’s fair. Ask your questions.”

  “What’s the System?”

  The blonde cutie behind the desk scrunches up her button nose and answers, “Well, that’s a bit complicated, and to be honest no one knows for sure. The long answer involves a complex artificial structure beneath the fabric of the reality to which most people are accustomed. A way to enhance relatively few humans to deal with the collective unconsciousness of our species. There are large tomes penned by some of the greatest minds about where it originated from and why it truly exists and for whose benefit. Why Plato’s allegory of the cave is a perfect representation of…”

  My eyes start to feel heavy at the long, complicated explanation. I never was good at philosophy, and the mere mention of Plato sends me into a stupor.

  Lillian must see my reaction to ‘the long answer’ because she doesn’t finish her sentence. Instead, she coughs once to get my attention and says, “The short answer is that it’s everything. There’s a whole secret way of interacting with the world.” She taps the air, and a series of blue windows appear like a bunch of pop-up ads. “All the blue boxes.” With a wave of her hand, they all disappear. “The inventory system.” She stands up from her chair and pulls up a blue window divided into a series of smaller boxes. As she taps each box, her clothes start to change, and she’s suddenly wearing a mechanized battle suit straight out of Warhammer 40k or Starship Troopers. “The gear and armor.” She presses a box again, and a large glowing futuristic looking rifle is in her hands. She points it at a chair in the back of the room, and I see her pull the trigger. A blue bolt of energy shoots out of the rifle at incredible speed, and the chair blows to pieces. “Even the weapons and combat systems. It’s all a part of the System, and it can make you stronger and more powerful than you ever thought possible.”

  I stare open-mouthed at Lillian, the girl who I thought I might get to make out with in the storage closet, now garbed in a futuristic battle suit, holding a glowing metallic rifle longer than I am tall.

  I know I should be scared by the casual show of violence. I mean, what kind of life do you live where you pull out a gun and shoot something without blinking an eye? However, instead, I find that I’m excited by what I’ve seen. Awed, I ask, “You can do all that?” Then a thought occurs to me. She said I was a part of the System too. “Wait, can I do all that too?”

  While I can’t see her full face through the battle suit helmet, I can see her smile. Lillian taps the air with her over-sized mech fingers, and she’s suddenly dressed in her blue jeans and t-shirt again. “You may be able to one day. But not at your current level.”

  “My what?”

  “Your level.” I see her stare at me for a moment and her eyes lose focus as she reads a notification only she can see, “Anthony Tinoco. Level 1. No Class. No job. Currently a student at the Polytechnic University of Pembrook Town. He lives with his mother and sister. Works at the Quickie Stop Mart.”

  “Wait, how did you learn all that?”

  Another smirk appears on Lillian’s face as she sits back down at the desk and I notice she has a dimple in her cheek. “I told you before. I used the Inspect skill. The same one you used to find out my name.”

  “But when I used it on you, it just told me your name and something about a level. What are those anyway?”

  “Well, first off, how much information you get from the Inspect skill is determined in part by the level of the skill itself, your level, and the level of the person or object you’re inspecting. I can see more information about you than you can about me. That’s because I have a higher level than you and a higher Inspect skill.”

  “Then why do I get so much information about other people?”

  “That’s because they’re not a part of the System like we are. The system effectively thinks of other people as having a level of zero. So, you’ll get more information when you use Inspect.”

  “Ok, what’s this level business? Is it like a video game or is it something else?”

  Lillian nods at my statement. “That’s right. It’s just like a video game level. You get experience points for doing certain things. When you have enough, you gain a level. That gives you more skill points and stat points that you can use to make yourself more powerful. Higher the level, the more powerful you are b
asically.” Before I can ask my next question, she interrupts me, “Most of this stuff is in that manual I gave you. It’ll tell you all about skills, abilities, your inventory, all that stuff. What I want to talk to you about right now is the purpose.”

  “Purpose?”

  “Yes. The reason why the System exists. You mentioned a dream you had about fighting a slime.”

  I nod in confirmation.

  “Well, that wasn’t a dream. That actually happened. That’s how all this started for you. I went to your college campus to clear a dungeon, and you followed me in somehow. When you killed that slime, you got experience points, and it boosted you from level zero to level 1, making you part of the System.”

  “But what was that place? That dream, err, the dungeon wasn’t like anything I’d ever seen before.”

  Lillian taps her chin, considering me. “Hmmm, That’s a complicated question.” She points at the green door behind me. “That green door is a portal that connects my home base with your convenience store. It will exist for as long as I want. Anyone with access to the System can see that door, but only people I allow can come through it. The place you went was a dungeon, which have a red door that will allow anyone who can perceive the System through. It’s a rare ability. Only 1 in a 100,000 people can even see the dungeon door. If they happen to enter one and live through the experience, they become a ‘System User’ like yourself.

  “But what is a dungeon? You haven’t answered that.”

  “The dungeons themselves come in two types. The one you went through is called a random dungeon. They appear, well, randomly. In different places, but usually near large populations of people. No one really knows what they are, but most people believe they are reflections of the collective unconsciousness of humanity. They’ll often contain representations of traditional archetypes found in popular culture, myths, stories, and legends.”

  “So, that’s why I fought a slime? Because humanity’s collective unconscious made a slime?”

  “Sort of. The slime was only one creature in a type of pocket world full of monsters. I was inside at the same time you were, killing monsters and destroying the big boss. Once he died and I completed the dungeon, it disappeared. I found you lying unconscious in the basement hallway, where the dungeon kicked you out when it was completed. I took you to the college nurse to recuperate and then found you later so we could have this nice chat.”

  “But why would you go there in the first place?”

  “That’s the thing. The whole point of the System. Yes, it gives the users some amazing gear and powers, like that plasma rifle, but the whole point is to clear dungeons like that one. If someone like me hadn’t cleared that dungeon, then it would have grown more powerful. It would have started to affect the normal world around it. Unchecked random dungeons like that one can lead to social unrest, riots, increases in crime, and even wars. The dungeons also get harder to clear the longer they exist. Making them more dangerous.”

  “What do you mean dangerous? That slime didn’t seem that dangerous to me.”

  “The slimes in that dungeon were among the weakest monsters. But if that slime had managed to kill you, you would have died. One of the things that makes users able to clear dungeons is that we have levels. If I were a level 7 and died in that dungeon, I’d respawn at my home base or in a longer dungeon at a safe zone. I’d have lost some experience and maybe a level, but I’d still be alive.”

  “If it’s so dangerous, then why do it at all?”

  “Well, for one, not everyone does clear dungeons. Some people take their ability to access the System and are creators of weapons and objects. That battle suit you saw? It was made by a crafter I know.” Her face takes on a frown, and she continues, “Other people are selfish pricks and just use the System to make themselves and their families rich and powerful.” Then motioning to the room around her she says, “But here with me it’s different. My family founded this company with the express purpose of clearing dungeons. There are other companies like ours, but I like to think that we must help people. Which is why I sought you out to educate you about the System instead of letting you figure it out for yourself and possibly getting yourself hurt or killed the next time you walked into a dungeon.”

  “Wait, did you say something about getting rich?”

  “Ugh. That’s what you heard? Not the part about helping people?”

  “No, I heard that part too. Clear dungeons, help people, prevent social unrest. But go back to the part about getting rich.”

  “Fine. It was going to come up eventually. As you clear a dungeon, you get rewards. Items, weapons, artifacts, a type of money called credits. You can use these items or sell them for more credits. You can use your credits to purchase other items from traders or crafters. You can also trade these credits for real life money. Some people make a decent living doing this.”

  “No, you said rich, not living decent.” Looking around the room at the solid wood desk, the lush carpet, the expensive art on the walls, and the great view, I add, “You, for example, don’t seem to be doing just decent.”

  “Well, my family's been clearing these dungeons for a long time, and we’ve built up a bit of wealth. The more difficult the dungeon, the better the rewards. That battle armor wasn’t a loot drop.” She eyes me up and down, “Look, you don’t have to clear dungeons to make some credits. You could become a crafter and make some stuff people need.” Seeing the look on my face she continues, “But if you’re interested in clearing dungeons, I can offer you some training if you sign up with my company. We’ll teach you the basics, help you level up, and even get you some gear. All we ask is that you turn over 30% of all the items and credit you get from clearing the dungeons.”

  “Wait, I do all the work, and you get a third of what I’d make in the dungeon?”

  “It’s 30%, not a third, but yes. We’re investing in you. We give you good gear. Show you where the best dungeons are for your level. We take the time to train you and point out the pitfalls. For that, we expect a small percentage of what you make. It's better than being an independent operator.”

  I think about that. I like the sound of it. An independent operator. It has a real American dream kind of feel to it. Besides, I’m not going to let another rich person take advantage of me. Who does she think she is, asking for 30% of what I make?

  Dreams of being rich fly through my mind and are only disturbed by the discrete coughing from Lillian. “You make up your mind? You want us to train you?”

  Not wanting to burn a bridge unless I need to, I decide not to turn her down outright. Instead, I’ll buy some time to see how difficult this dungeon thing is. “Uh, thanks. But I’ll have to think about it. This is all so new to me. I think I’ll go over this manual and take some time to think about my options. It seems like the type of thing I should consider carefully.”

  “A surprisingly mature decision.” She hands me a card with a phone number on it. “This is a lot to process. Take your time and call me when you’re ready to learn more.” She leans in and whispers, “Just be sure not to tell anyone else about it though. All this is supposed to be a secret. Besides anyone that’s not like us will only think you see things.”

  Lillian stands up and holds out her hand. I stand and shake it. She escorts me to the green door at the front of her office and opens it. The doorway is black, and I can’t see anything beyond it.

  “Don’t worry. It’s perfectly safe. You’ve already been through there once. It’ll take you right back to the store.”

  “Yeah, but how do I explain to my boss that I’ve been missing for the last...” I try to guess at how much time I’ve spent here, “… a half hour?”

  She laughs and pats me on the shoulder, “Trust me. Your boss won’t know you’ve gone anywhere. These pocket dimensions run at different speeds than the normal world. They’re perfect for when you have to get a lot of work done.”

  Seeing that I’m still hesitant to go through the doorway, she gives me a
shove, and I’m pushed through. I hear the door close behind me.

  Chapter 12

  Passing through the darkness only takes a moment, and I find myself stumbling into a shelf. I look around and see that I’m back in the Quickie Stop Mart. I hear Mr. Smith’s voice call out to me.

  “Anthony, there you are. I was looking for you.”

  I turn to see Mr. Smith walking towards me from the front of the store. He doesn’t particularly angry after I’ve gone missing for a half hour. As a matter of fact, he doesn’t look angry at all.

  When he reaches me, he holds out his big beefy hand for me to shake and I do. He smiles at me and asks, “How has school been going? You like the college life?”

  I’m not sure why Mr. Smith isn’t angry or firing me for leaving the store. I glance at the clock on the wall and realize it says that only a minute has passed since I walked through the storage room door with Lillian. Is that what she meant by ‘These pocket dimensions run at different speeds than the normal world’? Does time pass differently in these portal spaces? The repercussions of such a thing is a bit too much for me right now. I have to consciously bring my mind to the present and answer Mr. Smith.