A Trap for the Potentate

by Michael Atamanov

  “Fashion, dresses, modern art and literature, all kinds of ladies' secrets... it would have bored you to death. We also spent a long time talking about my new biotic legs. The operation is scheduled for the day after tomorrow, then I'll have to spend two days laying on a special hospital table, stuck full of wires and all kinds of readers while the doctors make sure my body doesn't reject the devices. So, for three or four days I'll be out of the game and you'll have to get by in Boundless Realm without my help.”

  The news was a double-edged sword. At first, I didn't know how to react. Of course, I was strangely glad that my beloved sister would finally get legs, but... it was such bad timing! I suppressed my annoyance. I couldn't be so egotistic! No virtual game or quests were worth Valeria's tears! So, I put on a happy expression for Val and reassured her. She was a bit nervous before the upcoming operation.

  We took a walk in the hospital garden. Valeria simply clicked “repeat previous route” on the console of her wheelchair and it followed the paths on its own. Its rubber wheels gave a slight whirr on the white sand. We spoke exclusively about Boundless Realm, especially what had happened this morning and our plans for the evening.

  This morning, when Valerianna Quickfoot had entered the game, she had convinced me, Max Sochnier and Shrekson Bastard to try and have the NPC orcs move automatically on the map. The naiad and the ogre were not too happy to exit the game when they'd basically just entered, but they still agreed to give it a shot. The ogre quickly hacked together four sedan chairs, where we undying sat down and I chose the very strongest orcs to carry them on their shoulders.

  I placed a target on the map for Ziabash Hardy where it read Lower Fort, a fortification on the very edge of the lands of the savage rougarou. What kind of fort it was, who built it, and if someone lived in it now I did not know. All the same, the forest nymph confirmed that it would be a decent place for us to spend the night, because many expeditions had used it before. The fort was seventy-two kilometers away and, by my calculations, the squadron of NPC orcs should reach it before it got dark outside.

  Everything was ready for the expedition, but Max Sochnier asked us to wait a bit before we left, because he was waiting for his nephew to come back. I didn't understand how the Human Healer would be getting back to us after dying in last night's battle and respawning who-knows-where, but the Naiad Trader said it was possible:

  “Antonius Just can create magical scrolls, and he told me he made a teleportation scroll to this orc camp, just in case he happened to die. I figured that, in the morning, my nephew would already be back but, for some reason, he just isn't coming...”

  Max Sochnier even left the game to figure out the reason for the delay. He came back a few minutes later, angry as a devil:

  “Antonius Just won't be coming, he changed his mind. He said there's some interesting stuff going on in his clan and he’d rather do that.”

  Unlike my friend, I was more glad than upset. Antonius Just gave me a kneejerk feeling of anxiety and mistrust, so I wouldn’t be missing his company one bit. The orcs lifted the sedan chairs and started on their way. I left Boundless Realm not long after, as did all the other undying.

  And now, walking around the park, my sister and I were actively discussing the game and worrying about our army's progress. Had they gone anywhere, or were they just staying in place? There was no way to go in during the day and check. It would immediately violate the whole concept of moving safely through the desolate, unpopulated lands of Boundless Realm because, in the presence of a live observer, it would load the whole dangerous location with all the obstacles, thick swamps, dense thickets and deadly monsters.

  My sister assured me that there was nothing unusual in moving this way. Once before, we had traveled on the dwarf train and, on reentering the game, we'd found ourselves in a moving vehicle, not where we'd exited Boundless Realm. Also, when traveling by ship, we hadn't just shown up in the middle of the open ocean where we'd left the game, but in our cabin. In theory, our situation was no different from those previous examples. All in all, my sister managed to convince me there was nothing to worry about, and she was right. But Valeria started beating herself up over a different issue: she didn't know about the rare sickles, kukri and other Exotic Weapons that used Strength.

  “I was planning to waste your last skill slot for such a stupid thing... I nearly hobbled your character, Timothy! I'm a worthless advisor...”

  I reassured my sister saying everything was fine, it wasn’t too late, and we had acquired valuable knowledge about the game. Nevertheless, Valeria's mood was ruined. My sister took her mistake very hard and suggested we go back to her hospital room, where she could search auctions on her tablet, and immediately order something for delivery to the Lower Fort.

  * * *

  I didn't even manage to enter the corporation skyscraper before an armed guard standing at the entrance hurried to leave his post and blocked my path.

  “Not so fast! I have an order from the Security Service to bring you to their office. It's right here on the first floor. Follow me.”

  A thousand worrisome thoughts were spinning in my head. I tried to imagine why I’d caught their interest. I really hoped I hadn't unknowingly broken a corporate rule, or accidentally spent another player's money on a real-world purchase. Come on, I basically only made purchases with prize money from the sale of Great Hunt tokens. Or was it somehow connected with Kira? I was reminded that her guard team was composed of Security Service employees.

  As it turned out, it wasn't the first, second or third option. Once in the office, an elderly man with a mustache in a Security Service uniform immediately cheered me up by saying that they’d followed up on my inquiry, done some checking and, as a result, two members of the Grave Worms had been exposed and detained. Both of them had been hired by the Boundless Realm Corporation for a trial period in different departments within the last few days. Next to me, a projector was displaying the faces of the two young men on the wall.

  They were clearly immigrants from the Middle East and, in a certain degree, even resembled one another. It was the first time I'd seen one of them, but I recognized the second immediately. He was the guy I'd bumped into in the revolving door to the corporation building, who I had crossed paths with a few times in the criminal neighborhood. That was exactly what I told the man.

  The gray-haired security guard gave a nod of satisfaction, then told me that both of them had already been interrogated, and everything I said was confirmed:

  “The ringleaders of the Grave Worms have promised seven thousand credits to whoever can kill you, and this information is known in the whole neighborhood. It's a very, very significant sum, from what I understand. What's more, they'll let anyone do the killing, it doesn't have to be someone in their gang...”

  Seven thousand was a huge amount of money for the vast majority of people in this city, not just those who lived in poor neighborhoods. I immediately felt extremely uncomfortable, seeing a gun in the man's belt holster. It seemed the guard also sensed that, because he gave a kind-hearted chuckle and continued:

  “Timothy, your personal file is secret, and I would need a special permission to access it. But from what I could get my hands on, you've had some unpleasant run-ins with this gang before. Their desire to get revenge and punish is basically easy to understand. But both people we arrested told us independently that whoever wants you dead had an extremely unusual condition: you were only to be killed while inside a virtual reality capsule. Only in that case would the seven thousand be paid out. In all others, the assassin would be tortured to death. This is the first time I've come up against anything like it in my practice. I'll admit, I'm at a loss. Maybe you have some of your own ideas about who might have put out such an unusual hit?”

  No, I had no idea. Maybe the Grave Worms wanted to demonstrate that even the most powerful protectors couldn't keep runaways from payback? All in all, I didn't understand at all, either. The mustached guard took a disappointed sigh and s
lumped his shoulders. It seemed he was hoping I could help him solve the riddle. After promising me that, from now on, all new hires would be checked for ties to the Grave Worms, the man wished me a good shift and let me go.

  * * *

  “Come in, Timothy,” the assistant to the head of the Special Projects Division joyfully threw open the doors before me. “Mr. Tohner just left, but I found all the necessary information for you! Would you like some coffee?”

  I didn't refuse, and told Tina she was amazing, along with some other words of admonition for her spending work time on my problems.

  “And what is the name of the sixth item from Fenrir’s Cursed Regalia?” I inquired while the girl was making coffee, not hiding my impatience.

  “The Mask of Fenrir!” Tina answered readily but, seeing me reach for my smartphone, she rebuffed me. “Don't search for it, Timothy. It's no use. The object isn't in the knowledge-base, because it was never added to the game.”

  “How’s that?” I asked, simultaneously surprised and horrified.

  What did that mean? My grand dream of gathering all six items from Fenrir’s Cursed Regalia was impossible even in theory??? But Tina clearly did not consider the conversation over, nor her discovery pointless. More likely, it was the opposite. The girl was overflowing with enthusiasm. She handed me a cup of coffee and sat in a chair opposite mine, crossed her legs and said with a satisfied smile:

  “So then, Timothy. You won't be able to squirm out of a serious conversation. One hundred thousand credits, and the item can be in your inventory today.”

  I nearly spit out my coffee. One hundred thousand?! She'd lost her mind! But Tina didn't think so:

  “The price is totally justified, considering how much getting the whole set is worth to you. Just so you know, without my help, the item will never exist in the game. So, think carefully.”

  I was sitting in the chair, drinking the strong coffee in small sips, not rushing to answer. One hundred thousand! That was a huge amount of money by any standards. I didn't want to waste the money, but that wasn't even the problem I was fearfully displeased by the whole situation. It just looked too much like the old scandal with the wyvern egg, where Alexandro Lavrius had tried to put an item into the game by unsporting means and give it to a certain player as a payoff. I knew perfectly that that story had ended quite badly for all the employees with unclean hands.

  What was more, I couldn't write off the possibility that there was no sixth object, and I was now just being tested to make sure I followed the rules. My agreement to this unclean deal could lead to instant loss of employment and an accusation of theft of the corporation's virtual property. But maybe my fears were overstated and, by refusing, I was missing my last chance to get the whole set.

  Seeing that I was in no rush to answer, Tina continued:

  “The Mask of Fenrir was not put into the game, because they haven't finished calculating what might happen if one player got all six objects. At the very least, that was how it was explained to me by tech support. Basically, from what they said, the idea of Fenrir’s Regalia came spontaneously and wasn't thought through all the way. But our programmers have created the mask. It has a unique number, so it would be a small matter to put the object into the game with service commands.”

  While Tina was speaking, I finally made my choice:

  “No, Tina. I refuse to acquire the object by dishonest means. It isn't worth the helmet itself, nor even the whole set to be booted out of work, and also be accused of stealing the corporation's virtual property!”

  “Great decision, Timothy!” I then leapt up in surprise when a raspy woman's voice rang out from a seemingly inactive computer. I quickly realized that someone else was carefully listening to our conversation via webcam. “Tina, you should have asked for a smaller amount! I told you like thirty or forty thousand, where'd you come up with one hundred thousand all of a sudden?!”

  The girl shuddered in fear and lowered her head in shame. I then finally recognized the voice coming from the speakers. It was Inessa Tyle, Vice President of the Boundless Realm Corporation, one of the richest women on the planet and Kira's very own grandmother. So, this really was a test?! I didn't even know if I should get mad at my highly-placed superior for such a guileful examination or be happy that, with some sixth sense, I managed to root out the trick and had not taken the bait. And meanwhile, Inessa Tyle said in a raspy old-lady's voice:

  “Timothy, forgive this old bat for the little show. I want to see you in my office. You do remember how to get here, I hope?”

  I confirmed that I did, and headed straight for the exit so I wouldn't keep such an important person waiting. And when I said goodbye to Tina, I saw a strange and complicated mixture of admiration, curiosity and sadness. It seemed that my boss's assistant didn't know I was already familiar with the second person in the Boundless Realm Corporation. As a perspective suitor, I had just grown significantly in her eyes but, Tina now must have thought her chances of getting with me were much lower.

  * * *

  This time, there was more than enough vigilant security on the seventy-seventh floor of the skyscraper. I had to go through several guard posts, where I was X-rayed and searched before being allowed to pass into a room with glass walls where I was already awaited by the gray-haired lady lounging in a deep armchair. The elderly woman was wrapped up tight in a warm shawl. For some reason, I didn't notice right away how severely the old lady's fingers were shaking.

  “Normally, I greet guests on my feet but, for some reason, I'm tired today...” the lady said in response to my polite greeting.

  In fact, Inessa Tyle did not look too healthy. She was in no way reminiscent of the nimble vivacious woman who had been feeding fish with her own hands on my last visit. Now, she really seemed like a ninety-year-old woman, not trying to hide her age or artificially rejuvenate herself.

  “Let me beg your apology again for that little test of honesty. In my defense, I can say that I studied your detailed dossier fairly well, which included a psychological portrait, and I had no doubt in your honesty. Overall, if I had been wrong about you...” Inessa Tyle gave a predatory smile, showing her perfectly maintained teeth, “let’s just say I really don't like when people disappoint me...”

  I didn't answer although, mentally, I was surprised that the vice president of a huge corporation wanted to acquaint herself with the personal dossier of one of her many thousands of employees. I'll admit, I still didn't understand why I aroused such stubborn attention of the upper leadership, and that frightened me. Meanwhile, Inessa Tyle continued her speech:

  “You see, Timothy, Fenrir’s Cursed Regalia was created on my direct orders. And I was also the exact person who reversed that decision and prevented one of the items from being added to the game, because I wasn't sure of the consequences. I didn't want to take all the responsibility for the fact that the huge pack of predators was back, and could threaten all Boundless Realm. Last time, it took the coordinated efforts of twenty-eight thousand players to get the better of the threat. But this time, it won't be a program controlling the Gray Pack, but a living player, who’s tricky, smart and unpredictable! Who knows where that might lead?!”

  It seemed she was trying to convince me that I was in too great a rush to collect Fenrir’s Cursed Regalia and had failed, because the full set would never appear in game. I needed to immediately intervene and convince Inessa Tyle, otherwise my dream threatened to remain unfulfilled. Choosing my words carefully, I tried to express myself to the important Vice President:

  “But from what I've heard, the global event with Fenrir was praised very highly by corporate leadership. The predatory, uncatchable pack forced players to leave the cities, which they were sick to death of, gave birth to a number of clans and forced them to act together, keeping several regions in a state of agitation, adding precisely what the users craved: intrigue, excitement, and an element of danger. As far as I know, all corporate employees who took part in the mass event got significant
bonuses, and some even got promoted. Meanwhile, the experience of creating intelligence algorithms for the Gray Pack is what allowed the programmers to make Taisha, a next-generation NPC!”

  The gray-haired lady smiled a somewhat tortured smile and pressed a button on the armrest of her chair. A young woman immediately entered the room with a deep bow and placed a glass of shimmering bubbly lemon-colored liquid on the table before Inessa. The Vice President waited for her to leave, took a small sip and continued:

  “My heart is acting up... Anyway, back to the conversation. Timothy, your view of the Fenrir event is too positive. It wasn't all so smooth, even though there were lots of worthwhile moments. The programmers created a force so strong the players couldn't ignore it. Reining it in was quite difficult. The main feature of the pack is that it quickly restored its losses by adding more NPC predators, while the program controlling it was self-teaching and took its errors into account. There were times when it seemed the power they created was out of control and growing without limit, so the only way of solving it was to artificially shut it down. But the players eventually handled it on their own. It was all they could talk about on the news for many days. It was quite the uproar...”

  Inessa Tyle went silent, thinking in agitation. I was just trying not to bother the Vice President.

  “Maybe you're right, Timothy,” the old lady said in the end. “The idea of a living player as the new Fenrir really is not so bad. What's more, you'll clearly need the forces where you're heading. Higher up the Styx there are more territories of the Dark Sovereign, the new uber-boss of Boundless Realm. That said, our designers and programmers are still working on him, so he isn't in the game yet, but his armies are already large in number, and his underlings are not very welcoming. You've met one of them already, so you have experience!”

  I raised my head in surprise, and Inessa Tyle laughed with an old lady's voice: