Skirmish (The Stork Tower Book 8)

by Tony Corden

  Before Dr Hutchins could comment, Leah said, “Are you out of your mind? A quarter of a billion each! Even with everything I’ve made so far, I’d be lucky to put together half that much. I was thinking, maybe twenty million.”

  Meredith spoke for the first time and said, “M: Not so confident when your bluff is called, are you? OK, you said you can do half that, and I’ll accept that. If you aren’t too scared to put your money where your mouth is then, I’ll drop that to one-hundred-and-twenty-five-million. Feel free to make it lower if you have to. I’m not really worried about the money, I just want you out of my life.”

  Leah let herself sit straighter and squirmed slightly. She thought for thirty-seconds, then pressed her lips together and said, “Deal! One-hundred-and-twenty-five-million, but only if you agree upfront that the entire world has real-time access to the feed.”

  While the battle and its outcome were usually public, battles were rarely shared in real-time. The wealthy often paid a premium to have their failures kept private. Dr Hutchins raised her hands and said, “H: Ms Carroll, Mrs Kodoman, may I remind you both that comments are best directed through the mediator. Mrs Kodoman, Ms Carroll has agreed to the fee being set at one-hundred-and-twenty-five-million Virtual Credits, on the condition that the feed is made available in real-time to all those who want to subscribe.”

  Stephen, John, Leah and Gèng had discussed this, and they’d agreed the best approach was to see if Warrior would change their fees slightly in anticipation of the number of possible viewers. Warrior’s subscription schedule was a premium service, and although popular with hard-core gamers, was set higher than many other platforms. Leah raised her hand and said, “Dr Hutchins, I want everyone to see this. Your prices are usually in the higher bracket because you offer a premium service and because your target group is pretty small in most circumstances. You don’t have a subscription schedule designed for the number of people who’ll be interested in this, and I’m almost certain you don’t have the infrastructure to manage the numbers who’ll want to watch.

  “I’m strongly committed to letting the world see what Mrs Kodoman is really like. I’ve prepared a proposition which takes account of the earnings you’ve received from your most viewed battles and ensures you make at least that much. The proposition proposes you contract out the streaming aspect of the battle to a streaming platform designed to deal with the numbers involved. I’ve listed the most reputable of these.”

  It took twenty minutes of negotiation, but in the end, Meredith agreed to the deal after her lawyer added a clause giving her a guaranteed share of the fees collected. As Leah had already agreed to the deal by that stage, she didn’t receive a share. Leah turned away from a grinning Meredith even as she made a note to give Stephen a bonus for suggesting the ploy. He’d already discussed options with the platform Warrior had chosen, and they’d figured that into the offer they’d accepted from Warrior.

  “H: Mrs Kodoman, Ms Carroll, we have reached an agreement on the challenge and the fees. This is your last opportunity to step away from this conflict. I urge you to take the time to consider your options. You have been sent a copy of the challenge and an invoice for the fees. Once we receive these, we will arrange a meeting to decide the details of the conflict.”

  As Dr Hutchins was talking, Leah had Three affix her digital signature to the contract and ask Stephen to transfer the fees. Dr Hutchins had looked down but lifted her head and stared at Leah. She shook her head reluctantly and then said, “H: Mrs Kodoman, Ms Carroll has finalised the contract and transferred the money.”

  Meredith looked up, and Leah let a smirk form. Meredith and her team faded from view. Dr Hutchins said, “H: Ms Carroll, while I am impartial, I am still concerned at your lack of representation. I encourage you strongly to find an advisor before our next meeting.”

  “Thank you for your concern, Dr Hutchins, but I’m hoping we can finish this today.”

  Dr Hutchins’ closed her eyes and said, “H: It seems you have your wish. I’ve received the document from Mrs Kodoman, and her fees have also been paid. She’s asked for this meeting to continue.”

  Leah nodded as Meredith and her team reappeared. “H: Both parties have signed the contract and paid the fees. Mrs Kodoman has requested that we continue the negotiations at this time and Ms Carroll is in agreement. You are being sent a list of all the current options that are available to you according to the fees agreed upon. This is to be completed at this time. Carl will compile your answers and either refine the list, or initiate the final stage where you take turns to decide on the terms of the battle. Before we begin, let me confirm that you are able to remain for the full eight hour period remaining.”

  Leah acknowledged she had the time, as did Meredith, and the form appeared in front of Leah on a braille reader. The list of options covered just under one hundred issues, and Leah and her team had already decided her preferences for all of them. It took less than ten minutes for her to record her responses. The form went to Carl, who, as an AI, was able to process the data almost instantaneously. He looked up at Leah, then he and Dr Hutchins faded from view.

  Leah waited patiently, although she did ask for some refreshments that were brought by one of the Ascendent staff. Meredith’s team took twenty minutes to complete the form, and they appeared at the same time as Dr Hutchins and Carl became visible again. Carl said, “T: Mrs Kodoman, Ms Carroll, your choices matched in thirty-nine of the ninety-six option areas. The areas where there was agreement are now binding. Based on these results, you will be presented with a list of the areas of agreement and asked to complete a second list of available options. This list has one hundred and seven areas to be considered.”

  Leah increased her processing speed and reviewed the areas of agreement. Most first rounds usually had an agreement of over fifty percent, as the list included things such as revealing player identities and what to do in the event of a tie. Most people selected what was seen as the most advantageous option in all circumstances. Leah had made several choices that experienced clients wouldn’t have made and which opened a bank of options that were more likely to favour an experienced team.

  Noah and Ivan had both shown a strong preference for an urban setting as they thought this was one of Meredith’s weaker areas. She and Gèng hadn’t been able to have the question order match their plans if the setting was undecided in the first two rounds. She was glad she didn’t have to try and guess that one, as Professor Montgomery had let pride set the agenda. It wasn’t a bad play on his part as his expertise was in urban warfare and he was right to assume that if Leah didn’t agree with him, she was weak in that area. Leah, however, thought he was an excellent tactician, but knew it would be Meredith making the decisions on the day and she had more faith in Noah and Ivan’s advice.

  At her increased neural speeds, Leah had time to work through the options and refine the decision matrices she, Gèng and Reed had put together from the almost five-hundred exabytes of meta-data Reed and Tesfaye had pulled from publicly assessable material on Warrior scenarios. Even so, it took her over forty minutes virtual to finish the list of options. This time, Meredith had finished first and was waiting.

  Carl said, “T: Mrs Kodoman, Ms Carroll, your choices matched in seventy-two of the one-hundred-and-seven option areas. The areas where there was agreement are now binding. Based on these results and the options available with the fee structure, we are ready to finalise the remaining outstanding options. I will send you the areas of agreement and give you an opportunity to review them. Unless you are ready earlier, the final stage will commence in one hour. The fees currently agreed-upon cover all likely options, and at this stage, they do not require any amendment.”

  Leah worked through the material again and considered the probable questions and the order she, Gèng and Reed had put together. For the questions to line up as she wanted, it meant she was going to have to make several changes to the plan. The battle was going to be larger than she’d desired and her three
generals would have a narrower path to move along if they were going to bring the contest to a tie.

  She used her full hour and calculated the options several times before making the final decisions depending on who went first. Getting what she wanted would be easiest if she went first, but she was confident it could still work either way. When Carl checked if she was ready, she said she was, and everyone reappeared in the room. After Dr Hutchins confirmed everyone had made their decisions, she said, “H: Warrior uses an independent, externally-validated, three-stage real-time quantum-state random number generator to choose who begins. As both parties are ready, we will now choose the player who goes first.”

  42

  December 28, 2073

  ASCENDENT

  As Dr Hutchins had started speaking, Leah crossed her fingers, causing Meredith to sneer at her. Three recognised the signal and sent a short message to Gèng who passed it on to Reed. After a lot of research, it had been clear that there was no way to break through both Ascendent’s and Warrior’s security suites. Even so, Alan Hopper had managed to uncover the mechanism used to determine who went first. On a review of the meta-data, they’d determined that each stage returned a binary result and the initiator of the conflict required success in at least two of the three steps to be offered the first choice. Reed was ready to try and manipulate the data if Leah hadn’t been able to find a suitable outcome down both possible paths. Her signal said she had a plan either way and for Reed not to take the risk.

  Moments later, Carl said, “T: Mrs Kodoman, you have been allocated the opportunity to make the first choice. You are allocated five minutes to finalise your choice at which time the option will be allocated to Ms Carroll. What period in earth’s history would you like the conflict to be based on?”

  The first options were always the most influential, and from what Leah and her team had researched there had not been a player who had rejected the chance for a first choice. Still, the wording allowed a player to waive the opportunity and pass the first choice to the other side. This option was at the core of Leah’s strategy to set the time and duration of the conflict.

  Meredith didn’t stop the smile forming on her mouth as Leah’s shoulders drooped slightly before straightening. Professor Montgomery said, “P: Mrs Kodoman chooses the last decade of the twentieth century AD.”

  Carl turned to Leah and said, “T: Ms Carroll, Mrs Kodoman has chosen the last decade of the twentieth century AD for the conflict. The conflict has already been preset to a large urban locale. Which city or town with an area over two-hundred-and-fifty square kilometres do you choose as the site of the conflict?”

  “St Petersburg, preferably in winter.”

  “T: Ms Carroll, the time of year is an option later in the sequence. Do you still wish to choose St Petersburg?”

  “Yes, please. Must have missed that option.”

  Dr Hutchins studied Leah with some concern, but Carl continued. “T: Mrs Kodoman, Ms Carroll has chosen St Petersburg as the city for the conflict. Which role do you wish to play in the conflict? The options are to defend a central command area against an invading force, to invade with the result of a central command area being captured or destroyed, or one of two entrenched forces looking to destroy or drive out the other.”

  Meredith’s team faded from view, and Leah went through her plan again. If Meredith picked the third option, an extra variable would be added, and the questions could swing back in her favour. If not, and she was almost positive Meredith would choose to be the defender, then her play was up next. In many ways, she’d set Meredith up for the defender position as the city choice meant Ivan was probably going to be with Leah and he was known as one of the best defenders in Warrior. A Russian defending a Russian city would give Leah a significant advantage. Noah, on the other hand, was one of the better attackers and with Ivan’s knowledge of the city, they’d decided that would give them more options.

  When Meredith’s team appeared, Professor Montgomery said, “P: Mrs Kodoman chooses to defend a central area against an attacking force.”

  “T: Ms Carroll, Mrs Kodoman chooses to defend a central area against an attacking force. What size force will each side be limited to? The options can be seen in the document you received. The fee schedule currently limits the size of the force to one hundred thousand. Should you and Mrs Kodoman agree for a greater force size than one-hundred-thousand, then that will incur an additional fee.”

  Leah indicated she needed to think and Meredith’s team faded from view and both Dr Hutchins and Carl froze in place. Leah waited another minute then unmuted herself. She looked at Meredith and disappeared again. She waited another two minutes before reappearing and looking a bit flustered turned and looked at Meredith and said, “I don’t care. It doesn’t really matter. You can decide, bitch.”

  Dr Hutchins said, “H: Ms Carroll, I remind you that such language will not be tolerated and may affect future options or incur additional fees. I must insist you direct your responses to myself or Carl. I also remind you that you were specifically encouraged to have a tactical advisor. Mrs Kodoman, as per the rules it seems Ms Carroll has offered you the option to set this variable. You have forty-five seconds to accept the offer.”

  Leah had to force her face not to show her anxiety. If Meredith answered within the forty-five seconds, then the rules saw the offer as an exchange. If she waited until Leah’s five minutes expired, then she would be given the same choice but not as an exchange. Gèng had only been able to find eight occurrences in the history of Warrior where exchanges had been offered and accepted. Leah was hoping Meredith and her advisors were unaware of the fine print.

  With ten seconds to spare, Professor Montgomery said, “Mrs Kodoman chooses a force of two hundred and fifty per side.”

  Carl looked at Leah and paused almost imperceptibly in what Leah suspected was the sort of minute delay she and Gèng had been discussing. He said, “Ms Carroll, Mrs Kodomon accepted your offer and has set the force size to two hundred and fifty per side. The next series of questions relates to the timing of the conflict. Ms Carroll, you have the option of the battle being open-ended or having a fixed finishing time.”

  Professor Montgomery interrupted and said, “P: I believe this option belongs to Mrs Kodoman.”

  Carl paused again then said, “T: Mrs Kodoman accepted the offer to set the previous offer. Her acceptance before the time limit expired is viewed in the Warrior Rules for Conflict Mediation as an exchange. I refer you to the section on the process for deciding options, section five, item three and paragraph eight.”

  Mr Mitchell appealed the ruling, and it took ten minutes to go through the various appeals. It was finally decided by an independent court-appointed AI who specialised in Contract Law. Carl said, “T: The ruling being upheld, Ms Carroll. You have five minutes to decide if the option of the battle being open-ended or having a fixed finishing time.”

  “I choose a fixed finishing time.”

  “T: Mrs Kodoman, Ms Carroll has a fixed finishing time. Mrs Kodoman, you may choose the finishing time to be any time, starting from thirty-six virtual hours after the eight-hour session here is finished and up to one virtual year after that.”

  Leah said, “Excuse my interruption Mr Carl, but I believe this option belongs to me. Mrs Kodoman and I exchanged one set of turns and return to the original sequence.”

  There was a pause, and then Carl said, “T: Ms Carroll, your understanding is not upheld anywhere within the section relating to deciding options and is not mentioned elsewhere in the rules.”

  “That may be, but I assert the rules clearly imply that the sequence is prepared to give each player an equal opportunity to decide the conflict. Further, I submit that in each circumstance where the option adds additional choices, the options are ordered to return as quickly as possible to the main sequence, and that in each case Warrior has added an even number of options to maintain the original sequence. Also, I would point out that in a meta-search including the Warrior rul
es, handbook, terms and conditions, and the available public records, Warrior has always applied the understanding that an exchange refers to a single event. Further, Warrior does not use the term, or any appropriate synonyms, to refer to the possible opportunity of reconfiguring any of its long-term stated objectives. I have sent you a copy of each instance and again submit that this choice legally belongs to me.”

  Carl sought legal advice and after ten minutes confirmed that Leah’s case had merit and would be upheld. Mr Mitchell appealed the ruling. The appeal process took almost an hour, with Mr Mitchell appealing to the Virtual Gaming Commission and using every appeal option. Finally, the court ruled in Leah’s favour. Carl said, “T: Ms Carroll, your appeal is upheld. You may choose the finishing time to be any time staring from thirty-six virtual hours after the eight-hour session here is finished and up to one virtual year after that.”

  “I choose that the conflict is to be concluded by midday on the first of January, 2074, GMT.”

  It was pretty clear from the look on Meredith’s face that she was already angry, and as the time sunk in her face went white with rage and Leah was sure it was only Carl’s calm voice which prevented her from exploding. He said, “T: Mrs Kodoman, Ms Carroll has chosen that the conflict is to be concluded by midday on the first of January, 2074, GMT. As the conflict has a fixed finishing time, you may choose the time to begin the conflict any time, starting from thirty-six virtual hours after the eight-hour session here is finished and up to one virtual hour before that time.”

  As Meredith’s team vanished, Leah let a small smile show on her face before closing her eyes and reviewing her options. Even though Meredith was aware of the next few options, she surprised Leah by choosing a starting time five full nine-hour gaming slots before the end of the battle, minus a half-hour for what Leah assumed would be the sudden death option. Each of the gaming slots was for a full nine hours, and they were separated by one real-hour for players to have a break and get NREM3.