The Stalker
by Jeremy Reimer
The Stalker is a short science fiction story that centers around John "Heart" Wolanski, a professional Starcraft player living abroad in South Korea. John encounters a strange glitch in the game that comes at the worst possible time in his professional gaming career. He must struggle against the glitch and his own personal demons, which are threatening to destroy him.The Stalker is a short science fiction story set in the present day, in a parallel universe that is very similar to our own. The hero, John "Heart" Wolanski, is a professional Starcraft player trying to make a living far away from home, in the Mecca of Starcraft, South Korea.While John struggles to keep mentally focussed on his career and the game he plays, he is confronted by a glitch in the game that he believes to be the work of an elite computer hacker. As the stakes grow higher, John worries about his mental condition.The story takes place in a parallel universe where the names of the professional players are different, but it is based on the reality of present-day professional Starcraft gamers who live in South Korea and elsewhere around the world.