by Tony Corden
As he fell she repositioned the knife she’d taken from his belt, so he fell against it and bringing the pistol she’d taken from his belt brought it around by his side. Although her face was hidden by the falling body, she placed the first bullet through the eye of the officer in charge. The next two killed the two on either side and then the weapon was kicked from her hand by the second soldier, the armoured boot breaking several fingers and snapping her wrist.
As she’d been doing this, all eyes had turned toward her. Takobi and Kimtora had exploded toward the soldiers and managed to reach them. They managed to kill five and wound six more before being bludgeoned to the ground. The reason they hadn’t been shot had been a hissed order from one of the soldiers. A shardgun was placed against Leah’s head as they pulled the dead soldier off her. As she lay there, the officer who’d stopped them from being killed said, “Fools. You have killed Taranna’s greatest hero, the one who stopped the city being overrun when the wall was breached. I should kill you, but the city will want to see you suffer.”
Leah did nothing as she was pulled to her feet and then she along with Takobi, Rundar and Kimtora were pushed into the wagon. Jamaree said, “X: What have you done? Now we will be exhibited before the whole city and executed before being made Ja’mar and left to rot. We will never find our peace. Why would you kill Kiptanfors? He was a hero and was being prepared to join the Parishad.”
“He was going to kill Rundar. At the moment Rundar is one of my brothers, and honestly, he’s the nicer of the two. I didn’t want to have only Takobi to talk with. Takobi is rude, and he is often unkind.”
Jamaree looked at Leah as if she was crazed. Leah ignored her from then on and held out her broken left hand to Kimtora and said, “Takobi, could you please ask Kimtora to put the fingers back in the right places. I suspect it will heal anyway, but the pieces of bone are rubbing against each other at the moment, and it hurts.”
With a grin, he replied, “T: Ask her yourself, or even ask Rundar. He might help you as I hear he is nice.”
“I said he was nicer, I never said he was nice.”
Takobi smirked, then said something to Kimtora who helped Leah straighten the fingers and bind them together with a strip of cloth Leah had her rip from her sleeve. After travelling deep into the city, the wagon entered a large stone building which Jamaree explained was used to keep slaves and prisoners awaiting trial and execution. After being herded down several levels, they were each placed in separate cells. There was no bed, so Leah lay on the floor and logged out.
65
December 26 2073 - 5
STORK TOWER
Back in the Tower, Leah breathed a sigh of relief as the pain left her broken fingers. She still had some pain from the breaks in real life, but sitting and reducing the distance she perceived also gave her mind a break from the constant bombardment of sorting out the sensations across her skin. Once she’d meditated for a few minutes, Leah reviewed her messages. She was a little surprised at how quickly Catherine had managed to orchestrate the attacks on Meredith and Nathan’s gaming personas.
Hundreds of Clan Y’Haul’s members had been targeted and killed. Several of their clan facilities had been destroyed, and their business interests throughout Vatan were being actively boycotted or attacked. Several ships belonging to Clan Y’Haul had been in various ports, and they’d been either claimed by conquest or sunk outright by bands of ‘pirates’. In Cosmos Online, similar attacks had occurred on worlds where Mahigan had interests. There had been multiple attacks, including kamikaze runs against her mining interests in several large and profitable asteroid fields.
Even on those worlds which Meredith or Nathan only visited occasionally, there were attacks on businesses known to be allied with them. Other internationally known and high profile players also suffered the same fate. Catherine or those in the various groups she was involved with had identified people involved in different types of virtual slavery.
After less than twenty-four virtual hours, there was already a conversation occurring which discussed them being targeted and connections being made with what had happened to Leah. The reports were careful to make it clear that there was no verified connection between Leah and those who were attacking the Kodomans. Several commentators had tried to draw a connection between what was happening to Meredith and the war declared on Atherleah within Dunyanin. The clip where Leah accused Suzluk of being a conspirator in her attack was yet to be seen because Dunyanin had managed to get a court injunction preventing Spectator or Leah from showing the clip.
As Conner and Gèng had mentioned, there were other trending topics which involved Leah. The first involved the War of the Gods event in Dunyanin and dwarfed the news about Meredith. Leah’s capture of one of the gods, and the substantial bounties being offered, had brought millions into the game and the influx of players to Vatan had necessitated Dunyanin to using its reserve overflow servers to ensure no loss of play. Tens of thousands were making their way to Mt Siddetli and offers for information on the whereabouts of Leah or her Günahkâr guards was an internal trend on all Dunyanin’s notice boards. Tens of thousands of others had also joined the game but were actively looking to defend Leah and her assets.
The other trending item was the revelation of a collaboration between the owners of the Seraph System, Cosmos Online, and TRAX to host a series of races to run over several days with a grand finale set for the start of the New Year. Every driver who wanted to participate in any of the eighteen premier divisions had to start at the lowest level. The first Twelfth Tier races were scheduled to begin at midnight on the twenty-eighth of December, Greenwich Mean Time. The timing was centred in England because the studio which set up the early foundation for the TRAX worlds had been based in London. Their primary and backup servers were located in a series of secure facilities to its north-west.
Gianna had arranged for Leah to meet Thad, Amy, Ivan, Noah and Yuè Fēi after her next day in Dunyanin. Captain Hobbert hadn’t made contact, but Alan had sent confirmation that Leah’s warning on the two entrances she’d identified to his backdoor system had been justified. Both showed evidence of being watched by Epics and one had left a coded message for Alan which Leah needed to see. Leah sent a message that Alan could arrange a time with Gèng or Three.
Gèng had forwarded a message from Edison saying that pre-launch images and micro-bite anticipatory-advertising were scheduled to begin at midnight in all local multiverse timezones. He also wanted to ask if Leah was willing to let Erica Morrison interview Leah about her experience playing on Grah. Leah agreed and suggested Gèng coordinate with Three, Sharon, and Erica to arrange a time.
Using her ability to process information at cyberspeeds and to multi-task, Leah finished the messages quickly. She had just enough time for a two-and-a-half virtual hour lesson on driving. The world she’d chosen was called Torque and was a privately-owned world set up by a real-world racing enthusiast. It was a niche micro-world with less than twenty-thousand visits a day. After a lot of research, she’d arranged for an initial lesson to learn the basics of real-world, pre-electric and pre-AI assisted driving and racing.
TORQUE
When she stepped through the portal, she found herself standing outside what looked like a workshop of some kind. Several vehicles were raised from the floor on hoists of one kind or another and behind her was several acres of black asphalt. In the background, she could feel the whole area was surrounded by a forest of some kind. Leah couldn’t feel anyone in the workshop, but an older woman was sitting in the reception area just inside the large work area.
Leah headed into the workshop and after knocking, stepped through into the small reception room. There was an old-style drink machine against one wall and several old armchairs. The woman, who looked to Leah to be ten or so years older than her mother, turned on her swivel chair and said, “Hey there, can I help you?”
Leah smiled and typed, “I hope so. My name is Atherleah, and I’m here for a lesson on how to dri
ve a car.”
The woman’s eyes looked Leah up and down and said, “Honey, don’t take this wrong, but why learn to drive one of these things? Your AI can get you places faster, and if you want the thrill, there are millions of other ways.”
Leah considered the question for a moment then replied, “I plan to try my hand in a racing world. Everywhere else, I’ve learned that knowing how to do something myself gives me more satisfaction and helps reach my goals. I can’t see why this would be any different.”
“Why choose Torque?”
“I did my research, and Torque has great reviews, including an endorsement from one of the people I trust.”
“Well, that’s always helpful. Do you mind sharing who swayed your mind?”
“Not at all, Jesse Hood gave a very clear endorsement on one of your advertisements. I sent him a message, and he said there was no place better to learn to drive.”
“Have you ever driven a vehicle of any kind before?”
“If you discount a space fighter, then no.”
“Well, here on Torque we like to keep the wheels mostly on the ground. Do you know how a simple, fuel-guzzling, earth-destroying, human-controlled car works?”
“Yes.”
“Really, well this I have to see. Come on out to the floor, and we’ll take a look inside one and see what you know.”
Leah followed the woman into the workshop and was led toward the back where a small squarish looking car sat with its front hood open. The woman pointed to various parts of the engine and Leah described what she thought they were and how they worked. After that, the woman moved to a bench in the centre of the floor where an engine was partially disassembled. After Leah had explained how everything worked, the woman headed back to the office and after having a seat, looked over at Leah.
“Honey, sorry for the run-around but we’ve found over the years that people learn best when we match them, the instructor and the car right at the beginning. To do that, we do a public search to see what their public profile is and we make a call on their aggressiveness, speed, usual playing styles. We factor in how smart we think they are and then try and match that with someone who can help them best. I took a bit longer because you have a lot of public content. You’re also way above average on understanding how a car works.
“The instructor I recommended will be here in a minute. She wasn’t convinced on my recommendation, but after a quick review has agreed to take the lesson in the car I chose. Don’t let me down.”
“I’ll try not to. Thank you for your help. I’m sorry, but I haven’t got your name.”
“That’s because I didn’t give it to you. Most people butt in right at the beginning and ask for it but you were polite, and I like that. My name is Ashley, and I’ll be here whenever you visit. Now here comes the instructor. Her name is Courtney. She’s human and can get cranky so just ignore it if she says a cuss word or two.”
“Thank you, Ashley.”
Leah had felt someone approaching, but now came to her feet and turned to face them. The woman was maybe ten years older than Leah. She was wearing a blue and orange leather coverall and aviator sunglasses. She was taller than Leah and stopped a few feet away, looking down at Leah’s face.
“3: T is for Courtney.”
“T: I heard you were blind and deaf.”
“I am. I use a SNAIL module.”
“T: How will that work when driving?”
“The surroundings are projected on my skin using a variety of tactile sensations which my mind interprets to give me a picture of what’s happening around me. The various measures like the tachometer, temperature and odometer are usually displayed on my forehead or forearm. My research said I need to feel through the steering wheel and pedals, so these are being isolated from the usual picture I’m given. I can’t hear, but if it is a noise which might impact how I drive, there will be a vibration set up on my skin in the area where the noise is. If it is the noise of the engine I need to recognise, then I’ll have to make some special additions as we go along.”
“T: Ashley suggested I give you your first lesson in a 2020 Mustang GT. That is a lot of car, and I’ve never taught someone their first lesson in one before, but she was adamant it was indicated in her profiling. She’s never been wrong yet. So follow me.”
Leah followed Courtney out of the workshop and saw a sleek burnt-orange car on the asphalt. Courtney had Leah get in the passenger side and took her for a drive, explaining everything she did and telling Leah what she should be hearing and feeling when she was driving. After twenty minutes they changed places, and Courtney said, “T: We’ll start with the six-speed rev-matching manual transmission and when you have a good feel for that, and if we have time, I’ll show you the ten-speed automatic select-shift. If you’re going to race, then you’ll end up using an automatic select-shift most of the time.”
Leah and Courtney changed positions, and Courtney said, “T: Most of the time you’ll use the keyless start, but every now and then you’ll drive an ancient vehicle and need to use a key. I’ve shown you how to do that, so have a go.”
Leah put the car in neutral, put her foot on the clutch and turned the key. As she felt the engine start, she let go of the key. Courtney said, “That has to be the best ‘first-attempt’ I’ve seen. How did you know when to let go of the key?”
“I can’t hear anything, but I felt the engine turn one-and-a-half-times. The fuel was already injected into the next cylinders. Now I know how it feels from this position I can get the timing better.”
“T: OK, now with the clutch still pressed in, put the car in first gear. As you release the handbrake, let the clutch go as you slowly put your right foot down on the accelerator. You felt me do that, so try and mimic the same motion.”
Leah did as she was told. As before, she was able to get the timing almost right the first time. She then changed into second gear. After fifteen minutes driving in circles around the flat black area, Courtney had her AI add some bright orange markings on the road and had Leah drive around the circuit. After another twenty minutes, Courtney said, “T: I want you to follow the markings. They will take us to a simple touring car racing circuit set in some rolling hills. This is for you to get a handle on the way the car handles around bends, and up and down hills. You need to speed up and slow down according to the conditions. Having said that, I want you to drive as fast as you feel comfortable.”
Over the next fifteen minutes, Leah slowly increased the speed at which she was driving. The road was easily twice the width of the car, and Leah had Three tweak the image until she had a clear view for over a kilometre and a half in front of her. To do this, she’d sacrificed distance at her rear and sides. At the rear, she still had a clear image for several hundred metres, but on both sides, she’d dropped the view to thirty metres. Leah had calculated the weight of the car with occupants, and she had built several algorithms to describe the motion of the vehicle including momentum, the different types of friction, weight distribution and many smaller factors that changed as she drove.
Not only did she know where everything was, but she knew how each part of the engine was moving and where each part of the car was in relation to the road, the course and herself. As she changed into sixth along a straight part of the course, she said, “This is fun. Do you mind if I experiment a little and push the envelope?”
Courtney was quiet for a moment as she double-checked Leah’s speed and saw she was driving at just over one hundred and thirty miles an hour. She said, “T: Sure. Just be careful at this speed, because one mistake, and we’d be dead in the real world.”
Leah nodded and drifted slightly to the right as she approached the top of the hill and accelerated. Both sets of wheels left the road. Courtney waited for the crash but realised immediately that with the slight drift and the change in momentum the car was positioned just right to take account of the slight bend in the road. Although the wheels passed over the outer edge of the road while in the air, as they landed
, they were just inside the course. The suspension didn’t bottom out as the car met the decline over a period of a second.
Leah had watched a few races and knew that cars could be made to slide sideways and even around sharp corners, and now that she’d been set free to experiment she tried a number of these moves. She didn’t push the envelope as much, and although one or two of the results surprised her, she didn’t have an accident. Finally, Courtney said, “T: OK, that was a great first lesson, and even that is the understatement of the decade. In two more turns, I’d like you to come to a stop in front of the workshop. Please come inside, and we’ll talk about another lesson and trying out a range of other vehicles.”
Leah pulled up to a stop and Courtney led her back into the reception area where Ashley was waiting with someone else.
66
December 26 2073 - 5
TORQUE
The woman with Ashley was closer to her mother’s age and wearing jeans, a soft cotton blouse, leather gloves and sunglasses. From Leah’s research, this looked like Danika Dufault, owner of Torque.
Leah smiled, and the woman said, “Atherleah, please have a seat. You too, Courtney. Atherleah, my name is Danika Dufault, and to me, it looked like you had an exceptional first lesson.”
“Thank you, Ms Dufault. Much of that is due to Audrey pairing me with Courtney and that lovely car.”
“3: N is for Danika.”
“N: That’s true, but you do have a lot of natural talent. May I ask why you wanted to learn to drive?”
Leah wasn’t sure she wanted to answer, but she’d enjoyed her time, so she said, “I’ve plans that include entering a few races, and I like to do things well.”
“N: Are you planning on racing in TRAX sometime in the next few days?”
“Yes.”
