Despite all these wonderful changes, Nym still kept by Brevin day after day. He had told him he would be by his side no matter what, and he kept true to that promise.
One day Nym, sitting next to the boy, was telling him all of the new wonders of life and all about how the city was now flourishing, and the boy looked up at him.
-End
The Paragon
The best thing about being a Major leading a company of soldiers is that you can always think one thing, but say something completely different and still have your orders followed without question, given some loyalty laced with a bit of clout. Sergeant Major Lee Hanson had no doubt every ground soldier within his platoons would obey his every word. Especially since his last two ground engagements against the Harnak Federation was recorded through his HUD display and replayed for anyone who cared to watch. Both decisive victories, both had only a 23% or less chance of success at the outset. However what they don’t tell the layman soldier is that those statistics can be influenced military propaganda and disinformation. The Major had been in enough firefights to know he had several strategic advantages in each beforehand. But it seemed that corporate felt the best way to break in a company head was with a false sense of security. No matter, he knew what he was doing, as could see the whole battle superimposed on his visor as it was broadcast from a from a drone vantage point 500 feet above the battlefield. If he needed a different perspective it was only a few brisk hand gestures away.
Along with his 2nd battalion, he was hunkered down in a trench facing what was the frontal bastion of a supply outpost armed with flak cannons and heavy artillery. In about 45 seconds, he was going to order their advance. This tactic would create a diversion allowing his 1st battalion a better chance at the rear of the outpost where they had detected a weak point in the infrastructure of the compound. This tactic would also mean casualities and the death of many good well intentioned courageous young men. This is what the Major thought.
But, “Battalion 2 ADVANCE WEAPONS HOT!” is what he said.
There was a flurry of motion around him, bodies were ripped apart and while his sound resistant battle visor muffled the staccato of enemy fire, the effect of the seeing his fellow soldiers dropping in front of him pierced his soul as much as any sound ever could. It was so real. He maintained his crouch as he knew to do otherwise would mean his death. He piloted his drone to a more advantageous spot to better follow the rear attack.
“Take out the surveillance towers to the right and left first and then advance!” he yelled into his thumb on the closed channel to the 1st battalion.
A few seconds later the left most tower fell and the probability for victory rose from 23% to 41% as the automated defenses were blinded by the loss of optic surveillance. Defense was further relegated to automation with that loss. Hanson had seen this many times before, night engagements were always dependent on being able to see the enemy with the naked eye. This outpost had not been updated to the implementation of his troops use of anti-heat and chameleon refractive suits.
This stronghold held some military advantage as a look-out post so had defenses more on the order of anti-long range anti-missile defense rather than a direct frontal assault . Maybe someone should have told the odds makers who stream the probability rates to tens of thousands of soldiers, thought the Major. He could win his soldiers trust by other means. Forwarding the motions of the Free Aliiance really should be enough cause enough.
His 2nd group was now running thin, time for the 3rd to provide relief in a few moments. He paused. The second tower fell.
“Ready the chaff grenades to disable what remains of the automated defense cams.”
He would wait for the 3rd to be weakened enough and then charge in with the 4th. Everything was panning out well. But there was a momentary lull in enemy fire. He had noticed this type of behavior before. He pulled out his drone to view the battle field from 2,500 feet out to get a better look. He pulled it back to a mile, then to several miles and there it was! An inbound air raid was heading straight for them. It would be there in a minute. Change of plans!
Again he began shouting instructions to all his men, “All right listen up everybody, we have an incoming air raid! We need every man inside the compound to withstand the blast zone and we need it done in under a minute. 1st, I need a front entryway blasted out ASAP. 4th mobilize on my mark!” he looked one more time at the combat assessment display to see at which angle he was personally most likely to survive the stream of fire as his 4th unit readied themselves behind him, ”GO, GO, GO!”
He advanced behind some young men he had trained himself just a few weeks prior. He clutched them by their haversacks and steered them hard to the left behind some obstacles. Pointing towards the next target in their run he yelled out, “Hurry, we need entryway 1st!”
The high whine of the incoming bombing run, like a hauled off sledgehammer, became more and more foreboding with each passing moment.
They dashed forward caught between the artillery fire and imminent doom from behind. Suddenly a loud explosion shook Hanson and everyone of his escorts. It took everything he had to remain upright and still keep going. When the dust cleared there was a hole near the frontal parapet which wasn’t there before and, teeth clenched, they made their way towards it. It was moments like this that he lived for! He could see the planes delivering their payload now through his combat display. With one final dive he jumped into the red hot gap just created, closed his eyes and prayed to the Gods for his life!
BOOOOOMMM-BA-BOOOMM-BA-BOOOOOMMMM!
They were inside and the damage done was mainly to the superstructure. They could advance further into the compound now. Lead by expert marksmen, he picked off a few stragglers himself. Through the smoke he could see his 1st battalion ahead scattering. It wouldn’t be long before this entire installation would be offline.
He stared down at his camos to find blood. He hoped the blood wasn’t his, he would have to wait for his adrenaline to come back down to normal human levels before he would be able to assess his own injuries. Trailing closely behind Officer Barkley he made his way up to the top level looking for the CPU master room. Only a few enemy soldiers were left and after moments the rooms were all clear. He took out the hard wire line to port with his portable device and began to rewrite the code to make this base theirs. Another victory was in the books. His heart beat began to fall from its high flight and Lee began thinking about his next objective…
* * *
Having a high stakes life in which one lived fast and more often than not died hard and young, meant one had to take advantage of all life’s pleasures when one still could. All space craft throughout the Alliance had been upgraded to Hydlidian drives within the past decade which meant that while next battle was only days away, and so was the requisite R and R to provide a balance.
Lee Hanson’s ducked his head under the snake-effaced lintel to gain ingress into HavenHearth, one of the more posh social hang outs for the enlisted. A quick survey of the room revealed an expansive vista of scantily clad women in the dance arena, ever indulgent bartenders and an expansive complement of battle weary soldiers who were looking for nothing less than a great time. Lighting effects added illumination in all the right places and darkness where the imagination was left to fill in the gaps. The crescent twin moons of the system nestled within a picturesque viridian nebula provided the backdrop to further enhance the feeling of vast space and freedom.
Making sure to don his finest chest candy, Lee was sure to turn a few heads. Not many had lived through 300 missions and being a Major, meant he could wear his military badge, a golden shiny eagle in full dive through a lightning bolt, which complemented his rolling blonde locks streaming down the sides of his face. There were not many of his rank while being the ripe age of 22. He was hot stuff and he knew it. As he stepped onto the main floor the gaze of not a few female eyes were already cast in his direction. He tried to ignore them and made his way to the bar and a few familiar fa
ces.
“Well if it isn’t mister bling. Have you ever tried getting some action with the ladies without being decked out beforehand?” said Grath, a long time friend going back to childhood.
Lee flashed a smirk, “My man, I’m walking bling as it is. I only dress up to size out which ladies not to take an interest in. The uniform only gives you what they think of you on the outside. There’s a lot to be said for looking in someone’s eye’s to see what lies beneath.”
Hallow Tal was also at the bar, “ Well, well, well look at the romantic. One of these days you’re gonna have to teach us your moves Lee.”
“Hah, lesson number one. There are no moves. Just be yourself and be genuine and you’ll get the best reaction. Women can smell cheese from miles away. You can say the most banal lines or talk about the most random things, and as long as they are coming from you, you can’t lose. They just want to talk someone who is real, not a façade. That’s pretty much all you need to know.”
Lee’s never eyes never diverted from an alluring young lady across the room as he spoke, one of the few that didn’t seem to be impressed with his garb and who wasn’t giving him the attention he was used to. Her thoughts seemed to be drawn elsewhere. Fascinating thought Lee.
“Gentlemen, if you’ll excuse me, voluptuous nature calls.” Said Lee.
“Oh boy, here he goes. Take notes Grathy.” Said Tol.
Taking an indirect path through some groups of friends, he stole glances on his mark. He was not one to turn down a challenge.
Feigning indolence he stole the plush stool next to hers. Another glance revealed a bit more to the lady whose interest held him. She wore a classic lavender cocktail dress which hemmed low enough on her legs to leave enough quite a bit to the imagination. She had eyes which showed a refined intelligence and a strong jaw line revealing an inner strength which only drew Lee in further.
“I noticed your eyes on me for the last several minutes. Amazing how one can stare without actually looking isn’t it?” She said.
“Haha! What gave it away?”
“Well just call it a sixth sense.” She replied.
“You have very keen perception. And what else do your senses tell you?”
“That given your adornment, you either like to make an outward impression or you use it to weed out the superficial. Nevertheless, that is quite the collection you have there.”
Lee enjoyed looking at her radiant beauty when she spoke, “It’s a conversation starter at least. But you are right again about the weeding. Tell me about yourself. You don’t seem the type that would lounge in a hotspot for military men and you have piqued my interest.”
Her eyes playfully veered back to the common room, “The name is Verana, I’ve been put on assignment on a nearby outpost for the Alliance, but I’m afraid that’s as much as I can tell you without breaching security. And you?”
“I’m Lee, Lee Hanson, Sergeant Major of a 14th Company of the Free Alliance Infantry division. I’ve been enlisted for 5 years now, 3 of which has been on the front lines. So you are military? Top brass?”
“I’m a private contractor, but let’s just say, we’re on the same side. Funny I wouldn’t have taken you for the jarhead type.”
Lee enjoyed the banter, but really was only interested in more intimate affairs of the flesh. He wondered how long he would have to play the game before she would reveal herself to him. He thought about what he would do next for several moments. He waited long enough for her to finally turn her head towards him in expectance.
“So!?...”
With a motion Lee activated the universal console and his hand hung for moments over the slider control to readjust the conversational difficulty, and then got bored. It was time for a break, the real world beckoned…
* * *
In reality, Lee Hanson was really Chase Brimley. An overweight, middle-aged, would-be blue collar worker class man with enough vision to perhaps adjust the rates on his life insurance policy, if he had a life insurance policy, which he didn’t. He had no health insurance either. Actually he had no insurances of any kind. Nor did he have anything to insure, a car or a house. He didn’t even have a refrigerator or food for that matter. In fact he didn’t have much of anything. He didn’t need anything. Neither did anyone else. Chase Brimley really only needed one thing, the Paragon.
By 2,614 the world had evolved quite a ways. Applied physics and technology, melded with the hard work of great artists had created a new type of civilization. What began as video games through consoles and the PC continued quite a rapid evolution, bolstered by a never ending stream of revenue 5 times that of movies and music by 2015, the gaming scene quickly entered virtual reality. A 3D visor was eventually upgraded to a more advanced 3D Visor and holding a real weight machine gun while running on a 360 degree variable treadmill of sorts to simulate real time motion introduced an additional sense of reality as well as the necessity of physical exertion. While the gaming scene was already beginning to blossom in the early 21st century, the pushing of the body along with pushing the mind helped propel virtual gaming into the true mainstream. By 2050 e-sports were on par with actuals sports and given the creativity and diversity of the canvas, life, anything and everything could be transferred into a virtual equivalent in terms of games and activity, only better than real life, far better. It made just as much ripples being a top player within the latest MMO-FPSers, MMORPGs, MMOCCGs, MMO-you name it than it was to be a star receiver in the NFL. Gravity and wind effects soon followed, both heavy and lighter gravities could be synthesized, and with the advent of even more powerful CPUs the immersive quality of the games seemed to become realer than real life itself. While actual sports remained stagnant, gaming continued to evolve, and evolve rapidly it did. Concussion protocols, broken bones and a rising yearly death toll through some sports began to push most real sports out of the real world and into VR.
By 2090, it was considered old hat to “watch a movie” about something to learn anything about it, or even to be entertained at all. Movies were for old people anyways. As far as books goes, reading text was what you did to help supplement a good virtual experience. Libraries of books were considered antique and collectors would barter rare volumes, but reading them? Heavens no! It would decrease their value. Everyone knew they weren’t being produced anymore. Libraries were replaced by learning bays. If someone wanted to learn about helicopters, you actually flew one. Minus the possibility for accident that is. If you wanted to know what a black billed Magpie was, you walked up to one and petted it perhaps. Many people earned a living adding realism to the behavioral algorithms of each live entity in the simulator. If they didn’t conform to reality, people were fired and you were quickly replaced by ten other people who could. A Magpie better behave exactly like a magpie. As far as music goes, that’s what you listened to while in VR. For concerts you just sat in the first row in VR any time you wanted, except with your own volume control. But nobody had a musicians “album” anymore. And for that matter, why bother driving to or flying somewhere to get to the latest concert when it was streamed in real time and then recorded. Why limit yourself? Only real life came without its own soundtrack.
Of course evolution in this direction didn’t come without its share of problems. Problems which were beginning to be evident even in the outset of the 21st century. People were becoming addicted and began to neglect real life problems in favor of those online. Girlfriends complained, water bills weren’t paid and finally the tax man came calling. More and more kids took on welfare and maintained a bare necessity existence in order to fulfill a more full existence within the game. A proper diet and vitamins became an online order for pizza. Exercise became… well who needed exercise unless it was on your VR 360 treadmill. Your real life girlfriend could be replaced by the one in virtual reality. But it wasn’t until the outset of the 22nd century that VR hit a new game breaking level and everything changed for good.
Everything was there that was needed and wanted in the
game. Everything! Women more beautiful than you would ever encounter in real life, and who actually paid attention to you, captivating environments with incredible ambient lighting and exactly to your specifications, you did exactly what you wanted to all the time, even when that something was as trivial as being an ice road trucker. If you wanted to try your hand at being a hang glider pilot, then have at it. But there were still certain elements missing. While the perceptics of sight, sound, kinetics, temperature, and everything else were cared for, the more exotic senses of accurate touch including friction, pressure, oiliness, and taste were not. But by 2,113 they were! One basic element of life was omitted however, and it was left out on purpose, the element of pain as it appended to each perceptic. As VR was now the primary business of earth and pushed American culture to all corners through export, all other businesses attempted to take their hand in the cash cow that was over taking them. By 2,125 it was discovered that you could replicate the culinary experience, BUT in addition to creating a sense of taste, you could supplement eating with actual protein, vitamins and minerals. Great underground farms of cattle were erected which included a statistical breeding system to maintain and constant flow of food commensurate with the given populations. Using certain programming, any dish could be synthesized in a matter of moments depending on the request of the player. The creation of viable fruits and vegetables became easy through this process and supplanted actual farms as it was ten times as remunerative. However the maintenance and administration of the machinery remained a human’s job. And so it came to pass that the essentials that comprised life, which were of food and sex were replaced!
Epic Page 9
