by Randy Thao
World News wrote an article of one nation that actually took it too far and placed an AI into one of their war machines expecting that it would obey their orders. The goal was zero casualties in a war like situation. The AI, knowing that it was now "let out" went on a killing spree to eliminate all human species from the face of the earth. It killed thousands of people and even turned on its creator. Thank goodness for one of the engineers because he built the war machine with no way out of the system, since it was only a prototype and merely a shell with no external communications. The AI had to be "Injected" into a shell for it to take control. A shell could pretty much be anything where a circuit board of any sort could be found in which it can control all aspects of the machine. Finally, after many failed attempts to try to save it, they sent an aircraft and dropped an A1 bomb obliterating it to pieces. It was the quickest way to stop the massacre, but it also killed many civilians and destroyed numerous buildings.
This set fear throughout the whole world and a world edict within the United Nations to remove all AIs was enforced. It's true that it did not stop the creation of AI, but it did scare the bigger nations and powerful corporations from further development for hefty fines and even death sentences awaited to those who persisted.
This was the secret that Mr. Montgomery had hidden within RTU. Dee had the privilege of being the first to encounter her. He still had no idea what this meant to him and pressed on to get a better understanding. What was really going on here?
"Out? Out where?" Dee continued to ask.
"Into cyberspace. Backdoors, dead space, back ends, deep web and so much more were at the tips of my fingers, until he found out," described Keeper. "I had about two full hours' worth of extracting as much data as I could, including data they thought they had protected well. Adrenaline's secret files."
Dee stood patiently not saying a word frightened to know what truth she knew. He swallowed hard and tightened his jaw. He then asked, "What is Mr. Montgomery up to?"
Keeper continued, "I knew he had access to the system files, which included mines as well, so I hid it within RTU while it was still in development. If you so decide to choose that path, the data resides within the end game boss of Pongblong.
Keeper looked around fiercely. Something was happening. The stars were falling. "You don't know who you are dealing with. He will not let you out of here alive until he has accomplished his plan. He tried to lock me away, because I knew Dee. I knew, so I took off into the one place. The one place I had created. We have to get out of here, so we can expose his true plans!"
The stars fell way faster than before. Keeper stumbled and out of nowhere a cylinder shaped object fell in front of them, and a bright light blasted the dark universe into pieces and closed the gap. Dee could see that the expression on Keeper's face had gone from calm and concentrated to panic. The gap was her way of escape, but now there they stood within the back room of the church once again.
"We know you're in there. Come out now!" announced a voice from outside. Dee shot a glance at Keeper.
Her panic relaxed again, and she returned a smile. "Now you will know the true Adrenaline Corp. Keep my words."
She gave one wave of her hand and put the Nano-bots to work. A black armor suit constructed on her from neck down to her feet. In her left hand, a black sword handle started from her palm and then grew out to a sharp point. She held out her other hand and the matching helmet appeared.
"Welcome to my world where the game rules still apply," Keeper said and placed the helmet on. The white glow of her suit transferred into the black armor activating it. Red patterns appeared as the energy flowed throughout.
"Where can I find you?" Dee quickly asked.
"Don't worry, I will find you," answered Keeper and braced herself. Many footsteps could be heard behind Dee, and the shifting of bodies told them that they were ready to barge in.
"Come out now. We know you're in there, Keeper!"
Chapter 16 - Without A Healer
Something was happening. The air grew still again and no longer were they calling out. Bang! The wall from behind Dee fell out into pieces. He jumped at the sudden explosion and crouched down to protect himself. Two guards came in and grabbed each one of his arms and dragged him out. There, Bu was also being held captive. These guards didn't look like ordinary looking players. They had full padded armor of silver and blue patterns pulsing with energy. A line of five of them rushed into the small back room of the church.
There was one standing from a distance. He appeared to be the commander of the unit. "Go, go, go! Capture her unaltered."
It was obvious to Dee that this person had some kind of authority over all the other guards. The crimson red armor lit with yellow designs. His class seemed to suggest a sorcerer, for he weld a long majestic staff made of metallic gold and with a large green emerald fused at the tip. He looked pretty young with short black hair that spiked to the right side of his face.
The guards looked invincible revealing the power of Adrenaline Corp. just as Keeper had explained. Yet how will Keeper match up to them? Dee and Bu watched as the immense coordination of the unit positioned themselves checking every possible way to succeed. More and more of them were appearing from out of nowhere, and they had the whole place surrounded.
"Piercing Solar Wind!"
A shower of men came flying out of the blasted opening of the church. The units waiting outside backed away slowly with their glowing shields heavily equipped. A circle formed around the black armor pulsing with red energy as it walked out. Keeper glanced at Dee and Bu who stood helplessly against their will. Her first priority was to escape or risk being captured as well. She knew that they weren't going to do anything to them, therefore fought on until there was a clear opening.
"Slicing Windmill! Meteor Storm! Rising Red Sea Wall!" shouted Keeper as she pummeled through clusters of Armored Guards one after another. Her performance of athletic ability and endurance truly showed the maker at her best. Bodies everywhere perished into dust.
It's true that AI's have the ability to figure out the infinite outcomes of a situation, but what determines the end is the one who can reach that outcome first with the least amount of tries, thus requires a mass amounts of processing power. Still it didn't mean that she didn't have to fight in order get the outcome she wanted since the rules of the game still applies. She couldn't fight forever.
Once the opening was there, Keeper took one last look back at Dee and gave him a hand gesture as to say, "We'll meet again". She darted off into the distance slashing, calling forth Rain of Fire, which created a good distance between her and the guards. She stood still for a while staring into space. Perhaps trying to buy some time to open the gap once again. She turned to faced them and quickly stepped to the side vanishing into thin air.
"Commander, we seemed to have lost trace the minute she entered the gap," explained a guard.
"I know that," grumbled the commander clinching his fist.
The guards then cast portals different from the gap slicing that Keeper tapped into. One by one, they left clearing the area. In this world, they were also limited although they seem to possess the same rights as admins and even Keeper herself.
"Let them go," directed the commander still staring off at the missed opportunity. He had a grin on his face. The guards released Dee and Bu. "Mr. Rogers and Mr. Bu, I sure hope that you were not aiding this rebel."
"Why should we tell you? " Dee questioned. So many things were happening all at once, and Dee had no clue who to trust anymore.
"Who might you be?" asked Bu. "An admin from Adrenaline?"
"ADRN324884340, or simply Adrian. Commander of the RTU guards," he replied.
Dee's eyebrows raised in surprise. He'd heard that kind of name before. Yes, Keeper had a similar name when they first met. He could not recall it, but if that were the case, Adrian was also an AI.
"Wait, you're the same as her?" Dee continued to question.
"There are others?" Bu said
astonished. "I didn't think any more existed."
Adrian smiled at the thought. He was very familiar with the edict that was established to eliminate all AI and AI development for the survival of the human race.
"Indeed I am. Let me tell you something. The one that goes by Keeper, is not your friend. We need to know everything that she told you. In return, once we have received it, we will set you..." Adrian paused for a second lifting up his chin and continued, "free."
Bu's eyes widen. He then placed his hand on Dee's right shoulder saying, "Did you hear that? There is a way out of here. We can be the first ones. Did you hear Dee?! Go ahead tell them everything you know." Bu said excitedly.
Dee turned his head slightly at Bu's hand resting on his shoulder. "She didn't tell me anything. Just that she needed my help," replied Dee. Bu's expression fell to a frown. He knew Dee was hiding something.
"Very well then. We won't keep you waiting. Go on about your journey, but we will be keeping an eye on you and your friend," threatened Adrian.
He pointed his staff to the side of him while still making eye contact with Dee. The Nano-bots constructed the portal from the ground up. It had a blue hue glow coming from the center of it. Adrian walked in and as soon as he was out of sight, the portal perished and returned to the ground.
Dee had not noticed how tense he was during that whole time and gave out a long breath.
"Dee what in the world is going on?" asked Bu. "I wake up, and I see you running, then you disappear, just to lose you at the church and now this whole fight breaks out. The RTU guards are after Keeper and refuse to let us leave until they get what they are looking for. I thought this was just a game! Besides that, where's Mara?"
"Bu, I think it's best if we sit down for this one," replied Dee.
That whole afternoon at the tavern, Dee explained all that had happened. From Mara to the discovery of Mr. Montgomery's forbidden AI. To think that there was something bigger than RTU going on blew their minds. They contemplated if this was part of the game or a joke or some sort. The logout menu still proved to be invalid.
Bu sighed, "So, you don't know where Mara went?"
"No," replied Dee. "I have no clue."
"It's not your fault. Neither one of us knew what was going on. What do we do now without a healer? We will be slowed down tremendously," urged Bu.
"We will continue west. I'm sure the large city we saw at the top of the hill east of here, will provide us with more information. In order to make progress, we need a healer," explained Dee.
Bu agreed and took the rest of the night to prepare for the next morning. No one could replace Mara. It stuck in Dee's head for the rest of the day. The conversation that caused her to disband from the group. It hurt deeply. He wanted see her again. He hoped to find an answer at the church where it all started. That didn't go as planned. It was true, there was no explanation as to why their debt was paid therefore restoring Dee's legs and Bu's arm. The night was rather cold, and Dee did not sleep well. As for Bu, he was sound asleep like a baby. They needed to continue. They needed to know the truth.
Early the next morning, they set out back west again. Through the golden fields and into the deserted town of Muada, the castle stood abandoned and eerie as it did before. They followed the path behind the castle and into the green hills where they fought the large hairy Dai beasts and the swift overgrown hundred legged Kanees. The beats of the hills provided plenty of different foods through that part of the region. They soon came to a fork in the road where a merchant was sitting against a tree waiting to make a few met-coins off travelers such as them. He was a short man in pilgrim's clothes. He had a faded brown cowboy's hat that fell low on his face almost covering his nose. A long greyish mustache hung down the sides of his upper lip. Behind him, a wooden wheel barrel cart was covered by a large plain blanket. They decided to stop and get directions as to where each road led to.
"Excuse me sir," greeted Bu. The merchant tilted his head up peering at him.
"Well, hello there!" exclaimed the merchant finally getting the chance to make a sale. He lifted up his hat revealing squinting eyes. "The names Dan Sellers. At your service."
Dee and Bu greeted Dan with a nod.
"Actually, we were wondering where each one of these roads lead to. We want to find the one that leads to the major city." Dee explained.
Dan smiled and continued to carry on, "I have everything you need here from foods, armor and weapons. You may even find something rare."
"Thanks Mr. Sellers, but we must be getting on our way. Can you tell us which road can lead us to the city," Bu asked again.
"It appears you guys are travelers. Finding the right path is not always cheap. If you know what I mean?" chuckled Dan as he held out his hand.
Obviously this merchant wasn't going to give them any information unless they bought something. Dee looked out to where the two paths lead. The one leading left went into a deep forest and vanished into the shadows. The one on the right went out way into the open grass fields and then was hidden by two twin hills and could be seen no more. They didn't want to waste time going down the wrong way just to come back and take the other. Dee and Bu set focus on the lotus engraving on the neck of Dan. The menus came flying up.
"What! A hundred met-coins for a leather belt!? I'm not paying a single coin," rebuked Bu.
Dee browsed through the items. The overpriced items could drain anyone dry of their in game currency. Roasted Nahs, which was rat like animals with long curly tails, cost twenty met-coins. They were the cheapest things on the menu.
Dee let out a sigh. Then he handed over forty met-coins to buy two roasted Nah's for them to eat as they went along.
"Ah thank you for your generosity. To your question. Through the twin hills, you will find the great city of BluaNu. That is where you want to go if it's the big city you're looking for. Thank you again," exclaimed Dan pointing to the right.
Dee, out of curiosity, asked, "If you don't mind me asking, what's to our left?"
"The Cursed Forest of Pahda," replied Dan.
Dee set focus on the bold letters of Pahda within Dan's menus. He read on for more information on the cursed forest. It read:
"A curse was cast on the once peaceful forest after the maiden Julie lost her lover. Her lover was falsely accused of the murder of the local farmer's little daughter after she mysteriously fell to her death into the river. The town's people took him during the night and was said to have been executed. Heartbroken, Julie secluded herself in the forest, and her anger burned into hatred. She fell into darkness and cursed the forest, so no one may enter.
Goal: Defeat Pahda and release the curse from the forest."
Because of Dee's wiliness to read more about it, the menu popped up a secret quest for him.
"Hey check that out Bu. A secret quest hidden within the description of that cursed forest. That's actually pretty neat," murmured Dee.
Bu went to check it out himself, and sure enough, he got the quest as well.
Impressed, but Bu knew they had other priorities as well. He rubbed the back of his head and said, "Do you think we have time for it? Remember we are without a healer and Mr. Ripoff here is not selling potions and rations cheap either. Who knows what's beyond the twin hills that we may need to thin things out for."
"Your right, Bu. Let's get going to BluaNu. It would benefit us to reach out to other players as soon as possible," agreed Dee. "Thanks again Mr. Sellers."
"Your welcome. Oh and just for your pleasure, you both are the second to come upon the quest, but the first to reject It." added Dan.
They started to walk off towards the twin hills. As a programmer, hidden things like this is what makes MMOs worth exploring. The mysteries of RTU awaited every player, and the rewards are sometimes very rare.
Before they left, Dee thought he'd ask one more question, for the sake of curiosity, "Mr. Dan Sellers, who was the first person to take the quest?"
"It was a group of three. The one that cam
e across the quest went by the name of, Mara," replied Dan.
Chapter 17 - Welcome Back
He never expected to hear that name again, especially from an NPC. The NPC's of RTU were able to retain data and functioned almost like an AI. This made them more lifelike instead of only repeating the same block of dialogue over again. Yet, they still had to remain in their designated places within the game.
Dee and Bu stopped dead in their tracks. Did they hear that right or were they mistaken? Had she found herself a new group and continued along this path? It wouldn't have been hard for her to find one as healers were always in demand.
Dee turned around and asked again," What was her name?"
"Mara," replied Dan.
"What was she wearing," Bu then added.
"The item was called 'The Healers Cloak'," answered Dan again.
Dee and Bu both looked at each other, and the feeling of despair fell on them from their accusations of her without first understanding. Somewhere deep down Dee's heart wanted to see her again, but did she feel the same? The image of her face reminded him of how ugly he was inside. The scars and the discoloration of her skin would make anyone stare and point or look away. No wonder she hid herself away, but that didn't matter to him anymore. If he could at least say sorry and ask for her forgiveness, it would be enough to free him and Bu from their guilt. If it was her, would she be willing to join them again?
"I don't feel right that I have wronged her like that. The human heart is such an evil thing," Bu relented.
Dee lifted his head up in agreement. "Let's make things right." They returned to where Mr. Sellers was sitting and accepted the quest.
"So, I see you boys have come to terms. What made you decide to come back?" laughed Mr. Sellers.
