The Game

by Terry Schott

  Chapter 59

  “If it’s all simply just a computer simulation, a game, then why bother to do anything at all? That’s a common question people who challenge my beliefs ask me, and here is my answer. Just because it’s a game doesn’t mean it’s not 100% real. Has anyone in here ever played a game? Ask a football star how real his game is; it provides the day-to-day focus for his entire being. His house, food, everything results from him playing a game. His entire week, month, year, and often his entire life revolves around a game. Ask an Olympic athlete how real their game is. I hope you see what I’m getting at. Games can be real. They can affect the outcome of everything a person is, and everything they do. Do you know that right now there are computer gamers sitting at their desks who make a six figure income from what they’re doing? They are immersed in their work; it has become their life. A game.

  We all play games. Politics, love, business, you name it. All games.

  I bet everyone here has heard this statement at least a dozen times in your life. It has been used to shame you, or make you act more grown up. 'This isn’t just some big game, you know…'

  The truth is that when you look closely, it is all just some big game…”

  Trew Radfield, excerpt from his opening talk at the world TED summit, Earth year 2047

  Danielle - 37

  “Ahh, this is the life.”

  I open my eyes, glancing to my left. Trew’s looking my way with a big boyish grin on his face. The sun is shining and the breeze coming off the ocean takes the heat away from our skin as we lie baking in the sun on the white sand. Whenever I get too hot I reach for my fancy island drink, complete with umbrella and pineapple. I smile and touch his hand. He grabs mine and we both lay back, thoroughly enjoying the experience.

  “It sure is, love.” I say with a smile. This is day three of a 14-day vacation. We both work hard and make certain to take luxury vacations at least once every three months. It would be more often but, like I said, we both work hard. This one has a little bit of business attached to it; Trew’s giving a talk to a group who decided the best place to hear our message would be in a five-star hotel situated in the Bahamas.

  “What time is the talk tonight?” I ask.

  “Eight,” he says. “The venue is pretty big, babe. I’m a little nervous.”

  I crack one eye open and peer at him through my sunglasses. The confident (but not arrogant) grin on his face tells me that he’s teasing.

  “You don’t get nervous, Trew,” I say to him. “And you’ve stood in front of much larger crowds. There are only going to be, what, two thousand people there tonight?”

  He chuckles. “Yeah, something like that. I know the talks go fine. Every once in a while I do get nervous, Danni. I just hide it well.”

  “You only get nervous when you start to think,” I say teasingly. “Once you let that mind of yours go blank, that’s when the real good stuff starts to come out of it.”

  “Hey, that’s not very nice!” I feel a splash of cold and sit up quickly. Trew grins, drops of the cold drink he flicked at me still dripping from his fingertips. “It might be true,” he concedes, “but still not nice.”

  “It’s great to see such big crowds. Remember when only a few people would show up, and most of them were pretty ‘out there?’”

  “Yeah,” Trew says. “The ‘bring your own tin foil hat’ days. Those were some pretty fun times. Not as many vacations, though. I think I’ll take the here and now over those lean days when I quit my job and you lost most of your clients because of the crazy ideas you and your husband were always talking about.”

  We lay quietly for another few minutes, then I announce I’m too hot. “You certainly are!” he says, making me laugh. The guy loves me so much, and I love him right back. I can’t imagine being with someone that didn’t make me feel like this. So alive and happy to… well, to just exist. It’s a blessing that we found each other. I sometimes feel like we tried to in another life and it didn’t work out. Maybe this is our reward for the pain we’ve suffered in other plays of the Game. Reincarnation explained from the “life is a game” perspective is one of Trew’s more popular talk topics. He has an endless supply of topics to talk about, but that one is always a favourite with the crowds.

  We leave the beach and go shower in our room, relaxing for the next couple hours and taking a nap. It’s going to be a long night; they usually are. After his talks, Trew and I mingle with the attendees, listening to stories and discussing the specifics of our beliefs. Sometimes we encounter skeptics, but more often we meet people who sincerely believe in our message and can’t wait to tell us how their lives have been changed since learning about our movement. Long nights, but extremely enjoyable.

  We go downstairs to the main conference area and head backstage about an hour before the talk is scheduled to start. Trew is shown to a room to put his makeup on (not a part of the job that he particularly likes), and I go in with him to sit and talk. We just love to be together. All these years and I’m not even remotely sick of that man. He’s just as excited to be with me. It’s like the more time we spend together, the more time we want to spend together. Sure, we both do our own things, which is important for couples to do, but when it comes right down to it, ask us each where we want to be more than any other place in the world and we always choose to be together.

  Raphael and Stephanie are in his makeup room when we enter, and everyone hugs, covering points about the upcoming talk.

  The next hour is filled with what has now become routine stuff, greeting the planner of the event, going over any logistics or details that need to be addressed, discussing the meet and greet session that will take place after the event — minor but important stuff.

  Then it’s time. I stand on one side of the stage, preferring to be in the wings rather than in the limelight. Someone from the host group comes on and introduces Trew, pumping up the crowd and building excitement, then he’s introduced. With a kiss and hug for me, he puts on his winning smile and walks onto the stage to greet his fans and give his talk.

  The crowd is a group of wealthy people from different parts of the world. I’m not sure how they all found each other, but that’s part of the magic of this movement. If you have a powerful message and it resonates with people, then they’ll do the majority of the work to gather together.

  The next two hours pass smoothly. Crowd trouble is a rare occurrence for us; Raphael says it’s an indicator that we’re on the right track and attracting the correct crowd. I know he has a small but efficient security force in place to spot any trouble before it starts.

  Trew always opens the floor for questions at the end of his talks. We all know what a fan Trew is of questions. The third question of the night quickly gets our attention.

  “Why don’t you all just kill yourselves, then?” The voice asking the question is deep and menacing. It feels like darkness. I peek out to get a look at the man. He’s well dressed and tall. Spanish looking, dark and fit. “If you all believe you’re in a computer simulation, just kill yourselves to get back to wherever it is you’re really living.”

  I hear Raphael hiss softly behind me and Stephanie puts her hand firmly on my shoulder, pushing me behind her. “You recognize that man, Trew?” Raphael whispers into a small handset which is wired to a microphone in Trew’s ear. Trew looks over briefly and nods with a small smile. He makes a signal indicating that everything is fine. Raphael grumbles into the microphone but stands beside me, glaring at the man talking to Trew.

  “Who is that?” I ask. “You know him?”

  “It’s Carl.” Stephanie says, watching the man intensely. “What’s he up to, Raph? I don’t like him so close to Trew.”

  Raphael continues to watch Carl, looking for some sign of danger.

  I hear Trew answering Carl’s question. “Killing ourselves is not an option I would recommend, friend. All religions agree on this point, and here's why I don't suggest it from a Game point of view. If you’re playing a game,
it’s for some type of reward or prize, right?”

  Carl smiles and I shudder. He looks insane, like he wants to take a bite out of Trew. “Some type of prize, yes,” he says smoothly.

  Trew nods. “So if the only way to claim your prize is to finish the game, and you get nothing for quitting halfway through, what would the average player do?”

  “So you’re saying,” Carl asks. There’s an innocent tone to his voice that sounds… frightening, somehow. “If you start a game, make certain to play to the very final moment?”

  “I’m saying don’t give up. Don’t quit right before the finish line. Everyone gets some reward for finishing; of course, the better you play, the better your reward. But I believe that in this Game we live in, it’s always better to play the Game until the finish. Sometimes it’s not possible, and that’s very sad. I don’t judge those who end their game before it’s done, but I encourage everyone to run right to the end.”

  Carl runs his hand over his cheek, rubbing his chin in thought. “Makes perfect sense, boss. I was seriously considering quitting before coming here tonight, but you’ve helped me realize there’s no way I can. Thanks, friend.” Carl turns and strolls towards the door.

  “Can I ask you a question?” Trew says.

  Carl doesn’t bother to turn around, he just waves his hand and says loud enough for the room to hear, “Not today, Junior. Perhaps another time.”

  I look behind me, but Raphael is already gone. Off to hunt Carl down, I hope. I almost fall down as I gasp for air. I guess during the interaction, I forgot to breathe.

  “Hun, we are going to finish this event and leave immediately,” Stephanie says.

  I look at her and can tell that there’s no use trying to talk her out of it. “What was that all about?” I ask.

  Stephanie looks worriedly at Trew, then back to me. “Hopefully nothing, Danni,” she says. “Hopefully nothing.”