by Dean Henegar
Hopping off the log I was sitting on, I made my way to the inn to find a good meal and then planned to go shopping before I tracked down where my troops were being housed. The sergeant could babysit them for a bit longer. Sometimes rank had its privileges. I was interrupted on my walk over to the inn when the system notified me that once again it was time to unplug from the game, and I was forced back into the prison of my ailing body once more to endure the minutes that felt like days until the game granted me release from my physical form once more.
Chapter 22:
“Is everyone logged on?” Chairman Raines of the Qualitranos corporation asked. He looked about the holo-conference display and saw the various heads of departments in their virtual seats at the long ornate meeting room table. Also in attendance were the representatives from the Veterans Administration and Meditronax.
“Let’s have our partners in the VA and Meditronax start us off, so we don’t torture them with the whole meeting.” The representatives from the VA and Meditronax mimicked wiping their brows in relief at not having to sit through a boring meeting, but Chairman Raines had a second ulterior motive as well; not wanting third parties to know their own financial situation. Luckily, the situation was good…very good.
“Please, ladies and gentlemen. What’s the status of the medpod project?” Raines asked.
“Mr. Chairman, the project is exceeding expectations. The interface, mechanicals, and AI controls are helping the patient even faster than we could have anticipated. The nanobots will be the biggest innovation in medicine since penicillin. Meditronax is pleased to have the opportunity to work with your team, and I do have to say your liaison, Mr. Raytak, has done exceptional work coordinating all the moving parts. We have the second prototype pod prepared and are ready to deploy it alongside the first, with your company’s approval. The FDA has okayed the system for wider testing, and it looks like, if all goes well, we will be on the fast track for a full green light from the government. The manufacturing facility is in the final stages of expansion and we are ready to go into full production within 30 days of approval,” Martin Yang the director of operations from Meditronax stated while gesturing over to the VA representative, Ms. Hallax, for her input.
“The facility in Knoxville, Tennessee is honored to host the first two patients for the treatment. The family of James Ty, a retired Gunnery Sergeant and combat veteran has signed the consent form for Sergeant Ty to be the second patient treated by the medpod. The patient is in the same room as the first, so that should help us with logistics a bit. We expect to have Sergeant Ty in the pod by the end of the day tomorrow,” Ms. Hallax finished, and looked genuinely excited to have the chance for this ground-breaking treatment to get its start in a VA facility.
“Thank you both for your input, I’ll have Mr. Raytak and his team coordinate with you in getting the second pod up and running. If you don’t have anything else, I’d like to thank you both for coming today and for the great work you’re doing that will eventually help millions of people. Qualitranos is proud to work with you both as partners,” Charmain Rains said, as both the VA and Meditronax teams logged off. A quick nod from one of his techs in the room let him know that the visitors were gone, and the rest of the meeting could commence.
“Well, looks like our guests are gone and now we can continue with all our deep, dark secrets,” Raines joked. “Let’s start with Trey Raytak. Do you confirm everything is going well on the medical side of the ledger?”
Trey looked at his notes quickly and received a thumbs up from the head technician Lou.
“Yes sir. We have everyone in place already to get the second pod functional as soon as it arrives. The AI is having no trouble administering the meds and controlling the nanobots. The only glitch we’ve seen is an uptake in the processing power used by the AI to create the comforting environment for the patients,” Trey said.
“Trey, from what I understand, the AI is only recreating memories and using the VR to create a comforting environment, like a favorite room or garden. Why would it need more processing power to do that? Is this something that will be a problem if we bring 1,000 or 1,000,000 medpods online?” the chairman asked with concern in his voice.
“No, sir. The extra capacity is miniscule in the scheme of things. Lou, my head tech, thinks that it is the AI learning the process of working with the patients, and that the CPU load will taper off as she gets more data and gets more efficient at creating the instanced environments. I just wanted to bring it up since it was a bit of an anomaly. Even with 100,000 or even ten million units online, the additional load would not overtax the servers in any way,” Trey added.
“Understood. Keep up the good work. Let’s hear about the game now. How are the servers holding up under the second wave of beta testers?” Raines asked.
“Sir, the servers are fine. We actually feel…” David Yen was the project lead for the Limitless Lands game. He looked to his colleagues to get confirmation, and found all were nodding their heads with no dissenters. “The entire team feels we are ready for launch sir. This would be an unprecedented move, I know, after only a few days of beta, but the game is ready, the AI is ready, and I think the public is ready to hand us the money to start playing,” David said with confidence.
“That’s a bold plan David, but I put you in charge of Limitless Lands because I knew you would deliver. Is there anyone opposed to launching say…the day after tomorrow? Gloria, can we get on vid and in the news to announce the game quickly?” Chairman Raines asked. He had been given a heads up that the game was ready, and the beta was really intended as a quick confirmation of that fact and not a continuation of the game development, like most developers used beta for.
“Mr. Raines, I’ve already put feelers out, and we can get on GamerVR again tomorrow, with Maxxo, to get the most reach with live viewers. I’ve also prepped the press releases, and let the gaming journalists know we may have a big announcement tomorrow,” Gloria added.
“That leaves the only bottleneck being the hardware units. Have the hardware manufacturers gotten enough units in stock to deliver? I don’t want to release the game and have people waiting 3 months to get a VR rig in that will handle Limitless Lands,” Raines asked, worried about the only thing out of his control. The company was delving into the hardware side, but it would be a few years before they were ready to compete with the established brands of VR gear.
“That’s looking good, as well. I reached out to the retailers and manufacturers yesterday to test the waters. There will be some scarcity at first, but the manufacturers have been working overtime once they saw our pre-order numbers come in. It also seems a lot of gamers ordered the game, but were holding off on buying the rigs up front due to the cost, so the stores and online retailers will have product to deliver at launch. Sir, from a marketing perspective, a little scarcity up front will help with building overall demand in the long run,” Gloria advised.
“That’s it then…we launch the day after tomorrow. Thank you all for your hard work, I know we’ll all be getting very little sleep over the next few days, but it will be worth it. I’ve spoken with the board and there will be a generous bonus to every employee of Qualitranos, if the launch goes as expected.” Raines ended the meeting, and everyone got to work.
Chapter 23
Word that there was another major update regarding Limitless Lands hit the web soon after the Qualitranos management meeting. The marketing department was creating lots of buzz without spilling the beans on what the big update was. Viewers knew, once again, that Maxxo and GamerVR would have the reveal and viewing numbers hit a new record for the show as gamers all over the world tuned in to see what the news was. Most were thinking it would be the company announcing a delay in the game’s release time frame, or that the company was going to lift the nondisclosure agreement, which would allow beta test gamers to start streaming play. Maxxo started his show a little differently. Qualitranos had given his team access to more video of the game and the show had
chosen what would be an intriguing piece. Also, Qualitranos had requested to place a large, covered object in the middle of the stage which would only be unveiled at the end of the show. Maxxo came out on stage to roaring applause, as he appeared wearing a black suit with the word “villain” written on it. His desk had a sign on it that read “evil lair” and he plopped down at his desk, waving for the crowd to quiet down.
“Welcome once again, gamers, geeks, nerds, and freaks to GamerVR! We have a beta update that’s sure to be great, so let’s not wait to welcome Gloria Treese from Qualitranos!” Gloria’s familiar face walked across the stage once more. She gestured to the large tarp covering something in the middle of the stage and mocked pulling off the cover before sitting down on the guest couch. The couch this time was a large ogre torso with the arms folded, providing a place to sit.
“Thanks for having me back, Maxxo. I have a lot of info for your viewers today, as well as a new video clip I believe you chose, personally, for the audience today,” Gloria stated.
“That’s right, but don’t have a fright at what you’ll see tonight. I brought my villain duds because were going to see a group of players that are taking the dark path in the game. It’s insane! Do you all want see…” Maxxo asked the crowd who roared to see the video. “Then you evil cats try not to drool when you see the cruel that some are doing in game.” The studio went dark as the video began to play.
The camera showed a character running through the muddy streets of a small village toward a burning stable. The character’s name showed as Lhorn in the corner of the screen, and his life bar was just above half. Bleating sounds from hurt and terrified animals could be heard from within the stable. A female elf in leather armor was pulling at the barred door of the stable trying to get it open and not having much success.
“Lhorn, help me get the animals out!” the elf yelled, while pulling ineffectively at the bar holding the doors closed. Lhorn ran to the bar and helped to push it out of the way. Right before they could open the door a crossbow bolt thudded into the side of the elf’s head pinning her to the stable door. Her life bar which was at one-fourth, depleted instantly, showing that the character had died. Lhorn looked to his left and saw three other players laughing and walking confidently toward him. Two of the other players were armed with crossbows and wore blackened leather with the symbol of a bloody dagger emblazoned on their chest piece. One human female was trying to reload her crossbow, while another human male pointed his crossbow toward Lhorn. The third was clothed in black robes and had a crude cloth mask covering his face with the same bloody dagger symbol on the mask.
Lhorn equipped a hand axe and pulled a shield from his back while charging toward the three. The human with the crossbow fired his shot, and Lhorn could be heard grunting as the bolt rammed through his flimsy chainmail armor, penetrating deep into his shoulder. The man in the mask chanted a quick spell and Lhorn fell to the ground, stunned, while a timer ticked down the 10 seconds until the stun wore off. The man in the mask casually strolled over and looked down at Lhorn, tapping a curved dagger against the side of his face.
“Well, well, well, looks like the heroes lose today. I really hope you drop me something nice and expensive when you die…don’t worry though, I won’t take your gear without giving something in return.” The man in the mask thrust his dagger slowly into Lhorn’s neck, and blood was seen spurting onto the masked man as he finished his thought. “Don’t mess with the Bloody Blade when we’re sacking a town. We appreciate the extra experience and the loot you drop, but the only thing you’ll end up with is a long corpse walk back to respawn.” Lhorn died and the last bits of conversation could be heard as the camera faded out.
“Boss, you want me to open the stable and let the animals out?” the human female asked. “Nope, leave them in to burn…might get a few extra xp out of it that way,” the man in the mask said as the camera faded completely out to the sounds of animals in pain.
“Wow, I think we’ve just seen the king of mean. Does this player killing crew get the loot and xp for raiding a village like that, Gloria?” Maxxo asked.
“Like I mentioned before Maxxo, you get to play Limitless Lands any way you like. We may not like it, and I personally don’t condone it, but players can take the path of evil if they wish. I do remind people that if you choose this path, you may find yourself on wanted posters with a big fat bounty to be paid for your death or capture.” Gloria then smiled and gestured toward the big object covered by the tarp in the middle of the stage.
“On a more positive note, would you like me to proceed with the big reveal?” Gloria asked Maxxo.
“I’ve been anxiously awaiting so don’t keep baiting us, Gloria. What’s the big reveal?” Maxxo asked.
Gloria got up from the ogre armed couch and walked to the tarp, motioning for the crew to have it lifted. As the tarp lifted, a large sign was revealed, lit with neon that flashed…
Limitless Lands full release….TOMORROW!!!!!
The crowd went wild, and it took Maxxo a few moments to calm them down enough to be heard.
“Is that even possible, Gloria? The beta only started a few days ago!” Maxxo added with a shocked look on his face.
“It’s correct, Maxxo. At 12:01am Eastern Standard Time, Limitless Lands will go live with full release. We only needed a short beta to confirm the stability with large numbers of players. We also wanted to give the VR gear manufacturers a little lead time to get enough inventory in stores before release. You can all get started in your adventures as soon as possible. Keeping the game in beta any longer would not serve a purpose other than to make people wait. The game is bug free, and Clio the AI is more than ready to go with millions of players at once,” Gloria said with a huge smile on her face.
“You heard it here first, folks. The first time in history a top-rated game company had a beta test of only a few days. Looks like ‘ole Maxxo may have to find a guest host tomorrow so I can get in game and play. For GamerVR, this is Maxxo signing off…”
Within hours of the announcement, stores across the globe sold out of the latest VR gear, and began to start waiting lists, as over 87 million players prepared to enter the game on launch.
Chapter 24
My consciousness slowly returned, and I found myself laying on the cot in my tent as I logged back into the game. Looking out I saw that night had fallen and my stomach growled, reminding me that is was near chow time. Rather than some more rations, I decided to try and find the tavern and a hot meal.
The tavern proved to be the easiest building to find in the transition point area, since I had only to follow my nose. Ribbons of smoke drifted from several chimneys, and the mouthwatering smell of roasted meats permeated the air around the building. The flow of people into and out of the building was constant, and I noticed the local NPC’s as well as many players among the groups moving about. The entrance to the tavern consisted of a pair of swinging bar doors that looked like something from an old western…I suppose it was much more practical than a traditional door, considering the number of people coming and going into the place. The smell inside the tavern was less inviting than the one on the outside, as smoke and spilt ale collided with the scent of too many people packed into too small a space. Still, my hunger got the best of me and I began to cast about for a place to sit in the packed room.
“Lieutenant Raytak! Over here!” A booming voice called from a corner of the room. Looking over I could see several long tables pulled together and all the families of the loggers we had escorted eating, drinking, and having a good time in each other’s company. Barnaby Stone was waving and calling me over while shoving the kids next to him to make room for me. Smiling, and waving at the family, I grabbed a spot next to Barnaby, who gave me a pat on the back with his giant-sized hands, the friendly pat nearly knocking me off the bench. The man gestured toward the table of food and the empty cup and plate in front of me. “Raytak, please share a meal with us. It’s the least we can do for the man who kept us a
live over the long trip here.” I didn’t need to be asked twice, thanking Barnaby while heaping my plate with a tender roasted meat that reminded me of roast beef. Alongside the meat, I piled up mashed potatoes, peas, carrots, and then covered the whole mess in a thick brown gravy. The simple savory foods tasted like a king’s banquet after eating only hastily cooked meals on the trail over the last week. Barnaby left me alone to destroy the food on my plate and only began talking to me when my plate was clear and I was using a hard chunk of bread to mop up the last bits of gravy.
Looking next to me, I could see Barnaby’s daughter Bella focused on something in her spoon while the newly adopted Edwin sat across from her reinforcing the ring of mashed potatoes he had built on his plate to keep a lake of gravy contained. Bella then flung a pea from her spoon at the wall of potatoes. The pea stuck into the side of the mashed potato wall and Edwin chuckled at the feeble attempt to breach his gravy dam. Bella looked over at me, frowning at her failure and I gestured to the large chunk of carrot left half eaten on her plate. Bella grinned and loaded up the carrot into her spoon and flung it at the potato dam. The large chunk easily breached the potato wall and caused a flood of gravy to flow about Edwin’s plate. Edwin looked dejected as he went about rebuilding his potato wall. Bella and I were interrupted in celebrating our successful siege by Claire, the children’s mother.
“Mr. Raytak, kindly do NOT encourage the children to play with their food! We hope to have them arrive at our new home without any additional bad habits,” Claire said in a stern voice, while a grin betrayed that she was not completely serious.
“Mrs. Stone, I’ll refrain from any more instruction on dinner plate siege warfare tonight. Thank you, and Barnaby, for the meal. It was nice to sit down to a real meal with good people,” I said.
