“Yes Mr. Berman. You are in a difficult situation. Luckily, there are alternatives.”
I looked up when I heard him imply there was a figurative lifeline. The bastard knew exactly what he was doing, and was timing his words perfectly, priming me for each step of his agenda.
And now he’s going to hit me with some other, slightly less terrible shit-alternative, and try to convince me it's candy.
“First let me assure you Mr. Berman, that regardless of the outcome of our conversation, your body will be well cared for, per the company’s legal obligation. As a matter of fact, I am told that a team of highly trained specialists will be upgrading your capsule for extended immersion capability. Before we continue any further, I will need your permission to allow them to enter your premises and administer the necessary treatment.”
Ha! Another carrot, I thought as a window of legal writing popped open in front of me, detailing the exact authority my caretakers would have over my body and personal belongings.
I wasn't comfortable putting my fate in the company’s hands, I would be completely helpless and at their mercy. Then again, if they wanted to harm me they could have done so already. Whatever else was going on, my body did need support.
I didn’t have much of a choice, I signed the contract digitally, and it closed immediately.
“Excellent.” Mr. Emery was almost rubbing his hands together.
“Now, before we continue discussing our original topic, I have a proposition for you.”
I didn’t care much for how he shrugged away the fact that the company had made me a prisoner, but I let him speak.
“Your body will be taken care of, 24 hours a day, by a team of professionals. We are committed to giving you the best commercially available support.” He looked at me meaningfully as he emphasized the word.
I narrowed my eyes. He wasn’t done with me, he wanted more, maybe much more. He was unfazed by my glare.
“As I said, we are committed to giving you the best commercially available treatment. However, the company R&D department is currently testing an advanced prototype extended immersion module. The company is willing to absorb the cost of the module now, to make sure your body receives the absolute best treatment available. In addition, you will receive a monthly stipend of ten thousand dollars.”
That definitely sounded too good to be true.
“And in return…?” I stared hard at him.
“You sign a document, stipulating you do not, and will not hold the company liable for the incident that brought you to these circumstances. This contract will have no bearing on your extraction from the game.”
That didn’t sound too bad.
“And this document will not affect your commitment to help me out of the game in any way?”
“None at all.”
I took my time to think about it. I definitely felt the desire to sue the shit out of the company for landing me here. But I also realized years might pass in the game before I’d be able to get out. Having the best treatment for my body that money could buy should come first, right?
“I want it in the contract. That signing it by no means releases the company from its responsibility to do everything in its power to look after my interests and get me out.”
He nodded. “Certainly. In fact, there already is such a clause in this contract Mr. Berman. Will you sign it?”
Another legal document popped open in front of me. It was surprisingly short, I read each line carefully. I was no legal expert, but it looked like everything Mr. Creepy said was in there.
I signed the contract, feeling as if I was signing away a part of my soul.
Mr. Emery’s mouth smiled. “Excellent.”
He looked down at his notes.
“Now, to go back to the subject of logging you out. As I said, the time estimate for implementing a fix is six to twelve months, but there is some good news.”
He looked me straight in the eyes.
Here comes the shit-flavored candy, I thought to myself.
“There is another way for you to log out of the game, Mr. Berman. However, it relies almost entirely on you.”
I stared at him in surprise.
“Me? How? Wait…” I frowned. “You’re not about to reveal the existence of some magic door to the real world, and all I have to do is slay the dragon guarding it, right?”
It sounded like some bad science fiction plot.
He chuckled politely at my joke.
“Actually, Mr. Berman, you are not far from the truth. As I said before, our engineers tracked your logs all the way up to the moment you disappeared from our view. They determined you were reclassified by the G.A.I as a…”
He looked down at his notes.
“A boss monster?” He looked at me questionably “Is that correct?”
I nodded at the lawyer. “Yes,” I answered carefully “It appears so.”
“Ah,” He smiled with his eyes still cold. “As we suspected. And may I inquire what tier your boss monster character is?”
“Tier 1.”
He nodded, “Just as our engineers expected, but they wanted to verify their theory before telling you what it means. To put it plainly Mr. Berman, that is your magic door.”
I narrowed my eyes at him.
“Tier 4 bosses are deemed significant enough to merit automatic registration on an external monitoring system, one controlled by the admins. According to the developers all you have to do is attain boss tier 4, and the admins will be able to identify and access your character, and then re-enable the log out sequence. A simple and ingenious solution, I’m sure you’ll agree.”
My head was spinning. Freaking tier 4? I was the only player to play a monster, let alone a boss, who knew how hard it would be to reach tier 4, or if it was even possible at all.
I looked back at the lawyer who was carefully watching my reaction.
“Why don't we cooperate?” I suggested, “I’ll try to reach tier 4 on my own and you guys work on the solution you first mentioned. That way, I have a backup.”
As I spoke his expression became completely neutral.
“Mr. Berman, even if it takes you months or years, it would surely be faster, from your perspective, than waiting for the company to come to your rescue, don’t you agree?”
“Maybe” I agreed, “but I would feel much better knowing there’s a plan B in motion.”
He nodded, “You might be right, but think for a moment, do you know how much money such an approach is going to cost us?”
What the hell is he saying??
“The company would have to exhaust significant resources trying to implement this ‘Plan B’ as you so aptly named it. Whole teams of highly experienced developers, data scientists and engineers would have to work around the clock. It would cost millions of dollars. We would prefer you to first attempt handling the situation from your end”.
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
“The hell with that!” I exploded hotly. “I’m trapped in an imaginary world your company created. You are keeping me a prisoner and hostage against my will. I don’t give a damn about how much it is going to cost you. Millions are small change for you. You are responsible for my situation, so GET. ME. THE. HELL. OUT!” I shouted those last few words.
He was completely unruffled by my outburst, expressionless as he observed the spectacle of me venting.
“But that is not completely accurate, is it Mr. Berman?” He asked in a cloying tone.
“What?” I asked sharply.
“It is not correct that the company is solely responsible for your situation.” He clarified. “You were warned that playing as a monster was dangerous, and that there might be consequences if you kept playing. But you displayed a staggering lack of common sense, ignored your friend Tal’s warning and continued to play.” He finished as if addres
sing a jury, carefully observing the impact of his words.
Shit. They knew Tal was aware of my situation and didn’t report it. Worse, they knew he’d violated his NDA agreement. Damn! He was probably in serious trouble because of me.
But how the hell did they find out about our conversation? Did they have a tap on his phone or something?
“But…” I whispered “A few million is nothing to the company… Last year they netted over 15 billion dollars…”
He nodded with a satisfied expression.
“Those statements might be correct, Mr. Berman, and if your predicament was the only issue, the company could easily absorb the costs. However, it is not the only issue. You might not be aware, Mr. Berman, but your carelessness has already cost the company tens of millions.”
I looked at him in confusion.
“The appearance of a goblin player in a remote, primordial part of NEO, significantly altered the game, Mr. Berman. The G.A.I was forced to adapt and change the game, creating a backstory and history that explains your character presence and your place in it. The moment you started interacting with the game as a goblin, the system created clans, quests, special locations, bosses, ruins, sapient NPC’s, and generated centuries of regional history and culture. All for your sake.”
Again he paused, letting me absorb this information.
“That is how the game was designed to work and it is not a problem normally. The players influence the game, and the world adapts and evolves. But that sort of adaptation is meant to occur gradually and involve thousands, if not millions of players. Your actions have rewritten a large piece of NEO for your sole benefit. I am sure you can imagine the vast expenses such a scenario would necessitate.“
“No, I don’t understand.” I insisted. He claimed he wasn’t technically knowledgeable, so I might have the edge on this front. “It’s well-known that Guy is hosted on a quantum server. No matter how large a shift my presence has caused, he can handle any amount of processing instantaneously, it shouldn’t cost the company an extra cent.”
“Again, that is true. However, the G.A.I isn’t the only resource the game is based on. There are also data storage arrays, network relays and other technical systems to consider, all quite costly. The sudden creation of a sub-cosmos within the game overloaded many of them. As I understand, new regional server proxies had to be deployed immediately to compensate, data storage was bought at a premium, and the network load has significantly increased. All those cost money Mr. Berman. Moreover, since the originating character was a goblin, many of the subsequent scenarios and game changes were unforeseen. This abnormality is creating bugs that are wreaking havoc with the system, our best technicians are working frantically to resolve them. In short, Mr. Berman, you have stirred up significant, very expensive, trouble for the company.”
He stared at me with hard eyes.
“The unexpected costs have caused our yearly fiscal projections to drop. We forecast a significant drop in the price of the company’s shares in the near future, which will force the company to take drastic measures to stabilize. Some employees will lose their jobs. Shareholders will lose their investments. People’s lives are likely to be ruined. And all that because you had to continue playing a goblin.” He let contempt slip into his tone as he eyed my character up and down.
He regained his composure, and smiled unpleasantly.
“So you can see why the company is not thrilled to invest a significant amount of money on behalf of the person who caused so much trouble, and if it ever gets to court, which I sincerely doubt, I don’t think the jury would be very sympathetic as well, hearing what you have wrought.”
He watched my shocked reaction to his words. Then, probably following some lawyer tactic offered me another carrot.
“Not all is lost though, Mr. Berman. The company is still legally bound to help you. Your body WILL be taken care of. Our people will be on standby to extract you the moment you attain boss tier 4. We are even prepared to offer you a special bonus, of the amount of 250,000 dollars, if you agree to take on the task of securing your own release.”
There was nothing more I could have argued against him. I was defeated, and he knew it.
“What do you want from me?”
“We want you to sign another contract with us, stipulating all I have just said. On top of that, we would like you to sign an NDA agreement, in which you commit to never reveal what has happened to you to the public.”
He looked smugly at my crestfallen expression.
“I should add that you are entitled to legal representation of your own, but due to your circumstance it will take time to arrange. However, right now I am feeling generous, I am willing to sweeten the deal. Sign the two documents now, and your friend Mr. Weissman will not be fired and prosecuted for breaching his NDA by talking to you.”
That last bit sealed the deal for me. I was trapped on all sides, Mr. Emery had seen to that. He expertly herded me into an inescapable trap, and I had nowhere to run. The only thing I could think of, was to get a little bit of extra help in the game. That was one of the major handicaps of my situation.
“There’s one thing,” I hesitated. “I need other players to join me, playing as monster races. I will need the help of other people, NEO is all about teamwork. And as you said, my presence as a player-monster has already impacted the game. So additional players shouldn’t be much of an issue, right? At least that way, all that extra content is not all wasted on a single player.”
He frowned at my suggestion. “I’m not in a position to determine if that is possible, Mr. Berman.”
He thought about it for a moment.
What was this in his eyes right now… I wondered. Was that… satisfaction?
At last he seemed to come to a resolution.
“Very well, Mr. Berman. If it is possible, we will grant your request. I accept your demand.”
“I want that in writing,” I put my hand on the table. “This and everything else that you promised me, including Tal’s amnesty.”
“Of course.”
“And I want to talk to him in person.”
He smiled smugly. “We have anticipated your request. Mr. Berman. Mr. Weisman is the technical representative that is scheduled to talk with you after we conclude our meeting.”
The cold-blooded bastard knew how this conversation was going to play out. He just guided me carefully to its inevitable conclusion.
Another pop-up legal contract appeared in front of me, detailing everything that we agreed upon, including Tal’s amnesty.
They even prepared the legal contract in advance. I thought in anger Those bastards!
I waited for a moment while Mr. Emery amended the contract to add my last demand. I signed the contract, averting my eyes from it as I did.
I tried not to, but words came unbidden to me; duped, hoodwinked, led like a cow to the slaughter. And idiot.
The lawyer smiled in earnest for the first time. It was not a pleasant thing to see.
Evil incarnate.
“Thank you, Mr. Berman, you are a very reasonable man. The signing bonus of 250,000 dollars has been transferred to your bank account. I would also like to add that a recording of our discussion was taken and will be stored in a secured location. Copies of the signed contracts will be emailed to you.”
He got up, this time not bothering to offer me his hand.
“Good day to you Mr. Berman.”
Then he disappeared.
I was left sitting at the table. My heart beating hard, adrenaline flooding my system. I was both angry and scared. I was easily handled by, what I was sure, was the company’s top-shark lawyer.
“That’s probably not going to happen, Vic” I replied in disheartened voice. “Even if he is a player, that wasn’t his game character. We would never know it if we encountered his character in NEO”
.
“You can do that?” I asked in surprise.
Just then there was another flash of light, and in front of me stood TheRagon, Tal’s game character.
We looked at each other for a long moment.
He’s probably not even aware of the trouble he’s in because of me... If he is, he wouldn’t want anything to do with me… I thought bitterly.
His character, TheRagon, was a giant, muscular barbarian. As he approached, he towered over my small goblin. He bent down on one knee, so our faces were roughly at the same level.
“Hey bro” he finally said, in a reserved voice.
“Hi Tal,” I responded weakly.
“You don’t look so good.” He said in a serious tone. “You’re all green.”
I grinned weakly at him.
He clasped his hand over my shoulder. “Since I got your message, just a little over an hour ago, I’ve been doing everything I can to help you out. I went straight to...” he stopped talking when he saw my astonished expression “What’s wrong Oren?”
“What do you mean by ‘a little over an hour’?” I demanded “I sent you the message hours ago… oh….” Realization dawned on me. Experiencing the time difference from the real world was shocking. I knew the gap existed, but experiencing every minute of more than twelve hours, then being told it was only ‘a little over an hour,’ was shocking.
Tal nodded.
“Yeah, I guess it seems longer for you. Must be quite a strain on your brain to experience the time difference. How do you feel?”
I paused to think on his question.
How do I feel? Well… Not bad actually.
“I feel pretty good since I got into this bubble, kind of… lighter?” I frowned. “That is until I met that asshole lawyer, then I felt like I was run over by a tank.”
He nodded again his eyes sympathetic. “That’s understandable. We couldn’t match your time speed as most of us don’t have the cerebral connection required for it. This bubble is an admin tool, we use it whenever we need to work on buggy areas, it runs at our own time speed. It makes sense you would feel better here. It’s probably the first time since you got stuck that you had a chance to slow down. Plus, it doesn't affect the speed outside, like a normal player would.”
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