“How many different types of grenades do you have?” Ethan asked Lily.
“As many as I think I’ll need. You can never be too prepared,” she replied. “Besides, I prefer to end things non-violently if possible.”
For the next few minutes, Michael led them along a winding route that forced them to make a bunch of confusing turns, but they didn’t encounter any more drones. They even managed to lose the pursuing spiderbots, although Ethan kept expecting them to reappear around the next corner. Eventually, they arrived at a familiar destination. It was the vent that led to the hidden room Ethan had found.
“Hurry, get in there!” Michael told them as they came to a stop before it.
“Right, I’ll go first, since I know the way,” Ethan replied as he got on his knees and pulled the grate off. A moment later, he was crawling inside the dark vent, and he heard someone else getting in behind him.
Soon, the entire group had made it safely to the sealed-off room. It was dark inside, so they were forced to rely on their helmets for light. The players passed the next two hours sitting there and talking about random things. It was only then Michael decided it was safe to start heading back. He’d sent a drone out to scout the hallways, and it looked like the enemy robots had finally settled down. They were back to doing normal patrols, and the spiderbots were nowhere to be seen. That meant it was fairly simple for the team to slip out of the vents and make it back to their base.
Still, relief flooded through Ethan as he followed Michael through the entrance of their base. He hadn’t been able to relax completely until he’d laid eyes on the save beacon Lily had built. Judging by the way Michael’s posture went slack as his gaze lingered on the machine, he’d been feeling the same way. The raid on the warehouse had been quite a risk. There were still plenty of aspects of this floor they didn’t understand, like where the other players were.
Once inside, Lily and Kyle immediately began to assemble the workbench. Kyle pulled out a small welding torch and fused parts together while Lily held them in place.
“It seems like you guys are going to be busy for a while, so I’m going to go stretch in the real,” Jude said after watching them work for a moment. Michael gave her a nod of approval, but she was already logging out and disappeared in a blue glow a second later.
“Do you need any help there?” Ethan asked as he walked toward Lily and Kyle.
Lily looked up and shook her head. “No, we’re almost done. Setting this thing up is actually quite easy. You can go ahead and log out. Kyle and I plan on staying here and running this machine for quite a while. There’s lots of stuff we want to build, including some parts to upgrade the machine itself.”
“Ah, all right,” Ethan replied uncertainly as she turned back to her work.
Michael spoke up from behind Ethan. “I’m going to go out and do some mapping of the corridors. I don’t need help though. My drones will be doing most the work. You may as well log off and get a break. That way you can get a shift on the machine later.”
“If that’s what you think is best,” Ethan replied with a shrug.
Honestly, Ethan didn’t have any real plans. Logging off now and coming back later when Lily and the rest of his teammates were less busy sounded fine with him. He opened his menu and quickly exited the game.
Everything faded to black, and Ethan found himself somewhere else. He was lying on his bed in his room. With a deep disgruntled sigh, Ethan pulled off his headset and opened his eyes. He blinked as light blinded him for a moment and then he got up. Ignoring his small, plain room, Ethan headed out the door and into the hallway. He then went to the kitchen and got a quick drink of water before opening the fridge and downing some meal replacement shakes. He didn’t really feel the need to prepare anything else. The shakes filled his stomach, and proper food didn’t make this world any less dreary and uncomfortable. With its empty everything, preening fools, and eyes everywhere…
Ethan was considering taking a nap to waste time when he got a message. His personal device beeped twice to indicate a priority notice. Curious, he pulled it out of his pocket and checked to see who’d contacted him. Maybe it was Lily? Much to his surprise, it wasn’t anyone he knew. The message was a notification from the Tekko company.
Congratulations Worldshift player! Your recent accomplishments in the Tower of Ascension have earned you a bonus prize. You’ve won a cash reward and a top-of-the-line 3-D printer! A delivery drone is already on its way.
Startled, Ethan stared at the message for several long seconds. He’d already won something? He’d never won anything like this before… In fact, wasn’t this the brand-new 3-D printer Tekko had just released? Those machines were incredibly expensive. He would have never been able to afford one on economic support.
A huge grin appeared on Ethan’s face. His focus on climbing the tower had already paid off! Now, no one could claim he’d wasted his time. A 3-D printer like this could make practically anything! Of course, it was impossible to make trademarked or illegal items—those were locked—but that still left countless possibilities. People used them to make custom clothes and simple electronics! Having the right brands was important to upper-class people, but Ethan didn’t care about that. Screw them. Ethan couldn’t wait to get his hands on the printer.
Practically vibrating with excitement, Ethan went to his living room window and stared out, just in case the drone was in sight. After a few moments, he decided he was being stupid, so he forced himself to go sit on his old sofa. He’d probably be waiting for at least an hour, so he needed to find something to distract himself.
Sighing, Ethan went to his television. After checking his mail again and not finding anything important, he browsed through the available entertainment shows. None of them appealed to him. Regardless of their genre, most were boring and too predictable. The government didn’t directly control what got made, but somehow every show spouted on endlessly about harmony anyway. Also, almost all the shows fit into two types. Either they were cop shows about catching economic criminals, or they were historic dramas where everyone suffered because of the lack of harmony. It got very old after a while. Ethan’s favorite shows were old sci-fi stories. However, they didn’t make many stories set in imaginary futures anymore. He supposed it was because they now knew how dangerous technology was, and everything was regulated now. It turned out the future was going to be a lot like the present. Nothing was going to change.
Ethan’s cloud of dark thoughts was banished by the chime of his doorbell. Startled, he spun to look at the door and saw a large delivery drone through his window as it flew away. Ethan instantly lunged for the door. He pulled it open and stared down. There was a big plain cardboard box sitting there, so he grabbed it and lugged it inside. He then wasted no time in placing it in the center of his living room and opening it. Just as promised, it contained the 3-D printer.
Beyond excited, Ethan put the machine together. It didn’t take long since the machine was designed to be easy to put together. Soon, the printer was on and Ethan connected it to his network. That done, he stared at it. It was a large black box with a clear top and a touchscreen on the side. What should he build first? It came with a fair stock of materials, and there had also been a credit chip in the box with enough money on it to buy more.
However, before Ethan could make up his mind, his personal device beeped again, and the machine began working on its own. Confused, Ethan looked at his device. He had another message from Tekko, and it was more good news. Wow, what a great day! Apparently, the printer was set up to automatically print one of Tekko’s latest personal device models as soon as it was plugged in. Ethan’s grin grew wider. The personal device he was using now was an old model from a second-rate brand that catered to people on economic support. Tekko made some of the most expensive personal devices around! Normally, they would never let one of them be printed, but obviously this was a special case. They wanted to show off what their new printer was capable of.
The PD took
less than an hour to print. When the machine stopped vibrating and beeped to signal it was done, Ethan quickly reached in and pulled the device out. It worked! The PD came to life when Ethan hit its power button. It was then simple for Ethan to copy all his personal information from off his old PD to this one. When he was done, he got another message. This time he wasn’t surprised.
We at Tekko hope you enjoy your new devices, player. We would also like to inform you that you’ve been entered in a special bonus game! Completing this mission will win you real world credits and keys that will help you ascend the Tower of Ascension.
That was intriguing. Ethan read on. It seemed like his new personal device came with an advanced prototype interface, and he was supposed to use it to find a location in the real world. Huh, he wasn’t sure how he felt about that. Ethan glanced out the window again. Outside, a grey cloudy sky hung over the identical townhouses that filled his neighborhood. An anxious mix of emotions bubbled within him. He wasn’t sure he wanted to go out there. The Bureau of Economic Harmony was probably still keeping an eye on him, and he didn’t want to get into trouble. Also, there was a lot of pompous scum out here, and he hated being around them.
On the other hand, it sounded like the key mentioned in the message was exactly what his team was looking for, and the idea of a challenge in the real world was more than a little intriguing. It had been a long time since he’d had a chance to compete and prove himself out here in the real. The people wouldn’t be any different from the NPCs in the tower really…
Wait, why was he being so cowardly about this? He wasn’t some sort of social recluse. Well, he actually had been a bit of a recluse lately, but only because he’d been busy. He’d been focusing on the Worldshift event so much that he hadn’t done much else. He’d also let his bad experience at the coffee shop affect him way too much. He needed to break his funk and face his problems. Lily was right about that. He really owed her one for the support she’d given him. Taking a deep breath, Ethan steeled his resolve and considered his next move. Should he contact his team and see if they had gotten a similar message? Probably.
First, Ethan quickly sent a Lily a message and sat down to wait. He quickly got a polite message back from her saying she was too busy to do an offline quest anytime soon but that she wished him luck and hoped he had fun. That was more than a little disappointing. Ethan had hoped to use this quest to meet her in real life. Oh well.
Moving on, Ethan sent out a quick series of messages to his other teammates asking if they were available and lived nearby. It didn’t take them long to respond. Michael’s rejection was almost immediate. He had a full-time job as a civil servant to worry about. Jude replied next, and she rudely explained that she was busy and didn’t live anywhere near him anyway. It was actually a relief to Ethan since he didn’t want to spend a day with her anyway.
Kyle got back to him last, but he actually accepted Ethan’s invitation, surprising him. Apparently, Kyle did live in Unity city. What luck! Kyle was a cool kid. After sending a few texts back and forth, the pair decided to meet up downtown.
That done, Ethan headed for the shower. After cleaning himself off and putting on some clean clothes, Ethan stepped outside of his apartment.
He then pulled out his new personal device. It was time to figure out where to go. With a few finger taps and swipes, Ethan activated his PD’s advanced interface. Immediately, two things happened; his personal device’s screen went dead, and a message box appeared in front of his eyes. Ethan jumped and his back hit the door behind him. As the doorknob poked his ribs, he stared at the floating message in shock. It was exactly like one from Worldshift! He was in the real world, right? It would suck if he hadn’t actually won that 3-D printer…
It was only after reading the message box that Ethan calmed down. It very politely explained that his new personal device was interfacing with his neural implant in order to create an augmented reality system, allowing him to see an electronic interface over his normal vision. Apparently this was the beta for a new system Tekko was rolling out soon. Ethan sighed in relief. He knew all about augmented reality. Usually it used special glasses or contacts though. Ethan frowned. Wasn’t this sort of manipulation of the brain illegal? It was basically making people see stuff that wasn’t really there. Well, Tekko had undoubtedly found a way around the prohibition. That or they’d just found the right person to bribe.
Without wasting any more time, Ethan experimented with his new augmented reality interface. It was actually quite useful and allowed him to do most of the same things as the Worldshift interface, such as identify objects around him and tag them. The program seemed to have very advanced visual recognition capabilities. He could also surf the internet while he walked around, which was distracting in the extreme. However, its most useful feature was the mini-map hovering in the corner of his vision. The map not only showed him his surroundings, but he could also set a destination and get directions. That was the sort of thing a PD usually did, but Ethan didn’t even have to look down at it anymore.
“Neat,” Ethan remarked as he walked down to the road. A blue car drove by, and as he glanced at it, his interface supplied its make and model. Although, since Ethan wasn’t a car guy, the information meant nothing to him.
With an excited grin, Ethan headed down the street toward the nearest bus stop. It had been a while since he’d last felt so alive in the real. In fact, smiling so much was hurting his face.
CHAPTER 27
ADVENTURE OF A LIFETIME
Still tinkering with his new virtual interface, Ethan headed down his residential street and toward the corner. He soon reached it and found himself standing next to a bus terminal. It was a simple yellow concrete pillar next to the road. Halfway up was a touchscreen terminal, and above it was a larger screen that displayed the time and occasionally flashed to show bus schedule information. There was no real reason for Ethan to use the terminal. His personal device would serve as identification, and the bus was free to use for everyone. His PD could also show all the bus routes and estimated arrival times. All Ethan had to do was wait for the right bus to arrive. That wouldn’t take long, even though this was a rarely used stop that busses often skipped. The terminal’s cameras had undoubtedly seen him and had informed the system he was waiting so it could adjust its route accordingly. All the bus routes were fluid and managed by a primitive slave AI that was very good at its job.
Sure enough, three minutes later a bus drove up and came to a stop in front of Ethan. A long line of windows ran down its side, and below that was a moving digital ad for cheap coffee. It featured a cartoon cat pouring a steaming cup of the beverage. Ethan ignored the ad and stepped to the vehicle’s door. It swung open almost immediately, and he stepped inside.
No driver greeted him. The bus was completely automatic. However, there were several other passengers on board. Most were seated, although one older man in khaki shorts and a T-shirt was standing. He was holding one of the poles that ran along the middle of the aisle. Ethan briefly looked the other passengers over before heading for a seat away from anyone else. None of the people caught his interest. They were pretty much what he’d expected to see, a mix of people on economic support. None of the employed would use a free service. They’d call a personal drone car. It was far more prestigious, and they wouldn’t have to mingle with dregs.
Most of the bus’s occupants had on cheap brands that made them blend into the background, but one lady was wearing a garish mix of colors that she’d obviously put together herself, and there was an angry-looking punk at the back of the bus. Some unemployed went out of their way to reject corporate fashion standards. Ethan respected their stubborn desire to fight the system, but he wasn’t comfortable standing out that way. Dressing in outlandish ways would hurt his chances of getting a job and could draw the attention of harmony organizations or law enforcement. Even when there were no government drones around, any citizen could use their personal device to quickly take video and submit it to the a
uthorities for a reward. Although, one’s sense of taste had to be incredibly bad to draw the attention of harmony activists. They weren’t the fashion police.
Once Ethan sat, the bus began moving again. To pass the time, Ethan stared out the window. His bus soon left his residential area behind. The rows of identical townhouses were replaced by larger suburban homes belonging to the employed and then by shops and commercial buildings. Ethan called up his interface and let it scan things as he rode past. He didn’t learn anything important, but it was still a neat way to pass the time.
Suddenly, there was a loud cough behind him. Ethan turned to glance at the source of the noise. It was the woman in the rainbow clothes. After coughing into her hand, she relaxed and turned to stare out her own window. However, Ethan’s interface reacted. As he stared at the woman’s face, it displayed her name above her head.
Surprised, Ethan glanced at the other people on the bus, including the punk at the back. His interface brought up each of their names and offered to provide more information on them. Curious, Ethan agreed, and his interface gave him the punk’s phone number and address among other information. That was interesting. Where was Ethan’s implant getting this information? Was it using facial recognition and then drawing it from some database? He had no idea. Also, it was rather weird and unsettling for software like this to be using his eyes. It was like his brain had become a computer, one he didn’t completely control. Creepy.
The bus approached Ethan’s stop. They were almost downtown. Tall skyscrapers loomed ahead. Their shaped glass exteriors gleamed in the sun, and each of them seemed to be fancier and more futuristic than the last. Lights flashed from antenna and dishes at their peaks. Some of them were shaped like towering blades of glass, while others had domes that contained greenery near their top. Everything looked both artistic and functional. The employed elite were incredibly proud of their workplaces and it showed.
Worldshift- Virtual Revolution Page 30