by N H Paxton
Osmark’s recording went into the layman’s version of the nano-tech copying the brain’s patterns line for line into a digital form over the next three days.
“Truthfully, that’s far more candid than I ever expected to be about how the process works, but this is the end of the world.” Osmark offered a genuine, yet exhausted, smile. I appreciated that. He was a dick and a whip cracker, but he could be real sometimes.
He went on to further explain that the nanobots now coursing through my veins would be copying my essence and uploading it to the servers deep underground, protected from the catastrophic EMP 213 Astraea would discharge on entering our atmosphere.
“We installed neural inhibitors into all the capsules which automatically logged players out after six hours of gameplay, but Patch 1.3 has changed all that. The neural inhibitors have all been disabled, and after twenty-four hours of in-game time, the logout button will permanently disappear, leaving you stranded in the game.”
No skin off my back, I didn’t plan on logging out.
“If you choose to upload yourself to Viridian Gate Online, you have a chance at surviving Astraea, at least in a digital form. Now, let me take a moment to address some of the concerns circulating around the internet rumor mill. First, I can personally assure everyone listening to this message that Patch 1.3 is our last major update—the game is locked, and all essential functions are now being administered by the AI controllers.”
The Overminds. I knew them all pretty well, understood their roles. I had to. My code needed to know who to call to complete a function, so I’d had to learn them all, though I only created code for two of them: Enyo, the Overmind of Chaos, and Sophia, the Overmind of Balance.
Osmark went on to discuss the fears of hacking, which we “secured” against. We certainly did our best, but someone with time and a lot of dedication could hack what we did. It would be hard, nearly impossible with the time the world had left, but they could do it.
“By watching this warning, you hereby remove all liability of damages from Osmark Technologies, its corporate owners, and its subsidiary entities. Would you still like to proceed?”
I knew what needed to be done, and I was the one to do it. Even if I only had three days until my heart stopped, perhaps stopped for good, I would make them count. I would make Osmark pay.
I cherished my last moment as a living, breathing, fleshy being, then answered. “Yes.”
<<<>>>
Quest Alert: Continue Reading Firebrand
CONTINUE WITH ABBY to find out what happens next!
Quest Class: Rare, Class-Based
Quest Difficulty: Easy
Success: Read on to continue the adventure!
Reward: 15,000 EXP; Title: Rebel Leader
Accept: Yes / No?
<<<>>>
Viridian Gate Online: Expanded Universe
Viridian Gate Online: Cataclysm (Book 1)
Viridian Gate Online: Crimson Alliance (Book 2)
Viridian Gate Online: The Jade Lord (Book 3)
Viridian Gate Online: Imperial Legion (Book 4)
Viridian Gate Online: The Lich Priest (Book 5)
Viridian Gate Online: Doom Forge (Book 6)
Viridian Gate Online: Side Quests (Anthology)
Viridian Gate Online: The Artificer (Imperial Initiative 1)
Viridian Gate Online: Nomad Soul (The Illusionist Book 1)
Viridian Gate Online: Dead Man’s Tide (The Illusionist Book 2)
Viridian Gate Online: Firebrand (The Firebrand Series Book 1)
Viridian Gate Online: Vindication (The Alchemic Weaponeer Book 1)
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Copyright
Viridian Gate Online: Vindication is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2019 by James A. Hunter and Shadow Alley Press, Inc.
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, email the publisher, subject line “Attention: Permissions Coordinator,” at the email address below.
[email protected]
About the Author
Thanks for stopping by for a visit, I'm N. H. Paxton, and I'm an author (surprise!). I've spent my entire life dreaming about being a published author, and I'm finally getting the chance to do just that. I'm a pharmacist, a father of 2, and husband to an amazing and incredibly supportive wife. When I'm not working at the pharmacy, or making delightful (mostly) meals for my family, I am working on writing. Currently, I have one work published, which is to be released on October 16th, and that is the book you'll find in my "Books" info, the Viridian Gate Online Anthology: Sidequests. I wrote The Ballad of Jaro Edgewalker, and it is my first ever published work in the mass market. I am thrilled to be working with Shadow Alley Press, Inc for the foreseeable future, and am excited to be working on the very books that got me involved with LitRPG in the first place: Viridian Gate Online. I am looking forward to being able to expand my published works column, hopefully one day into the triple digits, but am trying to keep focused on one project at a time.
About the Publisher
We love books and we are crazy-passionate about publishing the best adult Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Action-Adventure around.
Though our stories can be thought provoking at times, our primary goal is to entertain readers with wild stories and interesting characters you can’t walk away from. We want to whisk readers into a different world where the impossible is possible, where monsters lurk around every corner, but so do heroes, always ready to swoop in and fight back the dark.
We are also deeply dedicated to the authors we work with. For us, publishing is less about individual titles and more about supporting the authors we love. We want our writers to succeed, to thrive, to sell books, and to pursue their fiction passionately. We also want ALL writers to succeed and achieve their dreams of crafting excellent books and connecting with an audience who will love what they do. We firmly believe there has never been a better time to be an author. We also believe publishing is not a zero-sum game and that a rising tide lifts all boats. For that reason, we offer a variety of writing r
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Find out about all our great books at www.ShadowAlleyPress.com
