Lost in Space

by Dmitry Raspopov

  I went straight to the quest givers. Today’s list seemed to have no good infantry quests at all; the best ones were for armored vehicles, and all had x10 bonuses.

  I checked my skill points.

  Character: NameNotSelected

  Level: 21

  Class: Infantry

  Free skill slots: 5

  Free skill points: 25

  Galaxy credits: 15,000

  Reputation with the Wargs: 35

  The amounts of available skill slots and points technically enabled me to train as a tanker, provided I had enough money to buy a tank. My reputation with the Wargs was already enough to allow such a purchase.

  No tank-supporting quests were available on the list so far. Others players probably hadn’t yet acquired the necessary skills, investing their points into infantry fighting vehicles, or training individual infantry skills.

  “Shit. Why did I have to withdraw the money?” I sighed, getting a ride to the tank shop and assembling a good model priced at just 500,000 credits. Twisting and turning the tiny model for a while, I returned it to the shop window.

  If only I had that kind of money. One or two more weeks of farming and I could buy a heavy machine, unlocking new quests, new pleasant bonuses, and a new level of earnings.

  Cursing myself, I returned to where the quests were handed out, though I was no longer in the mood to take any. My spirits were at their lowest. Why, why withdraw? I didn’t actually need that much money in the real world; only enough for a full mortgage repayment. I definitely could’ve used it in the game!

  “Viktor?” I heard the supervisor’s voice inside my head. “Is there a problem?”

  I forgot that they could contact me at any moment. After the first week, Mariya stopped intervening, monitoring my play remotely and observing my actions and choices, so I twitched in surprise when I heard her.

  “No. Just thinking what to do next,” I replied.

  “Good. Your blood pressure is very high.” Saying that, she switched off.

  Reluctantly, I approached the wall to select a fourteen-hour quest, the only available one with the x10. It was the first time I took a Level 2 quest. Actually, I hadn’t even seen any such missions on the list before.

  Level 2 quest accepted: The Nagorax Settlement

  Duration: 14h

  First attempt bonus: x10

  Reward: 20,000 credits

  Fine for leaving the position early: -35,000 credits; -10 reputation with the Wargs

  Load the location map?

  To my surprise, loading lasted more than usual; flying through the tunnel took thirty seconds at least. Upon arrival, I was at first confused about where I was. It was all banging and crashing sounds, explosions and heavy booms of cannons shooting plasma balls that splashed magma upon hitting the ground. A spacesuit helmet fell next to me, a head rolled out, pouring blue liquid over my armored feet. My instant impression was: I’m in fucking hell.

  “All infantry! Withdraw!” a strange voice burst into my head, repeating the command in three more languages. “Fast! Or we’ll be their dinner!”

  I didn’t have to be told twice. I followed them once the light infantry vehicles came down the hills racing toward us, trying to put as many miles as possible between me and my previous position.

  “Fast! Their tanks are coming!” the same voice repeated another message. “They’ll flatten us like pancakes! I’ve never seen anything like that!”

  As I was retreating, I glanced back and spotted the familiar teardrop vehicles atop one of the hills. After them came a thick disc.

  Getting over the ridge, it stopped. Something red flashed from a hole in its side, darting across the battlefield with terrible speed and hitting the spot I had been teleported to. The blast wave reached me, making the ground tremble beneath my feet. I would have collapsed if not for the gyroscopes and servos in my spacesuit that were keeping me up.

  Seeing the disc turn its holed side toward me, I dashed off with the speed I never thought I could achieve.

  “Infantry, take position,” we were commanded at the new location. Next to me stopped a fast-moving armored vehicle on large, corrugated wheels, topped by a submachine gun. I heard the same voice inside my head: “Hey, R10013. Take the right trench. I’ll go get more soldiers, or we’re doomed.” It was, apparently, addressing me.

  “Why are you commanding?” I inquired. “I don’t remember you being promoted into a leader.”

  “Are you an idiot?” he asked suspiciously. “We won’t get any fucking skill points if we fail the quest.”

  “Can you fail a quest in this game?” I was truly surprised.

  “Now you can. Since two days ago.” Cursing me, he continued: “The fuckin’ free ride’s over. Fuck off to your trench, private.”

  Without arguing, I took the position. In half an hour we started taking fire. Our rifles and submachine guns mounted on vehicles could not stop the heavy machines that claimed our positions again, driving us into another retreat.

  The next few hours were spent escaping, taking new trenches, and escaping again. Running out of a grove formed by low cactuses—they seemed to be everywhere on this planet—we suddenly saw a small settlement with strange dome-like houses spread over a large area.

  Level 2 quest: The Nagorax Settlement failed.

  The next system message popped up instantly: You got 5,000 credits. Exit the location?

  “No!!! Don’t leave, guys!” the previously commanding voice now begged. “Please don’t leave us.”

  “Why not?” I asked in surprise. I couldn’t understand why he suddenly got hysterical.

  “All upgraded weapons you have will be lost,” he informed. “You’ll start the next battle with standard ones. All of our vehicles will explode and we will be infantry once more. Let’s try to fight them off!”

  “You are crazy, dude,” a new voice came. One of the spacesuits next to me exploded, splashing its blue contents around.

  “NO!!!” The first voice broke into swearing in three languages at once, calling everyone to keep fighting instead of retreating.

  I was curious to see what new features had been introduced to the game during my two days of absence, so I stayed. A few more people exploded; that was probably the way to leave a location in the absence of teleports. Apart from me, five more men stayed, as did the armored vehicles. Their crews started to broaden the trenches, driving the vehicles in there so that only the mounts with submachine guns were peeking out.

  A good old method, I noted, helping the guys dig and carry the debris away, using the parts of the abandoned spacesuits as our buckets and spades.

  An hour passed before the insects, supported by their teardrops and discs, came out of the cactus grove. We had used this time to take up defensive positions, hiding our vehicles, and ourselves, in the trenches.

  Once the mantises’ lines were within the optimum firing range, the voice in my head commanded: “Fire, guys! All calibers! God help us all.”

  While digging, I got to know the remaining infantry soldiers. Most of them were Russians; virtually all foreigners preferred to leave the battlefield as not to waste time, considering the system’s warning that the task had been failed anyway. However, there were two Chinese and one American among the vehicle crew. The crew members had no choice but to fight to the end, otherwise they would lose their vehicles. So, they followed orders, digging their machines into the ground.

  We opened such an intense fire that the mantises stopped advancing. When one of the discs floating in the air fell to the ground, belching black smoke, we rejoiced and started firing all the ammo we had.

  Losing two discs and a score of teardrops, the insects retreated.

  “We made it,” one of the guys exhaled happily. “Now what?”

  “I’ll be damned if I know,” the commander replied merrily. “We’ll see. This is the first time I got in such a mess. Why did I accept this bloody level 2 quest? I could’ve kept ploughing through level 1 ones, farming mon
ey.”

  “I, too, took the x10,” another voice came. Then more joined in, confirming that I wasn’t the only smart one purposefully taking quests with bonuses.

  “There. They’re just asking for trouble,” the commander got our attention, shooting in the direction of the insects who, apparently, decided to make another attempt. Their new attack was a bit more successful than the first one; they only lost one tank and several vehicles. Their attack failed soon enough and they retreated.

  Level 2 quest complete: The Nagorax Settlement

  The frozen countdown appeared and a bunch of system messages popped up.

  You got 40,000 credits. Level up! Congratulations! Task complexity increased. Bonus increased to x20. You gain +10 reputation with the Wargs.

  Wait for extraction. Time till extraction: 30:00.

  A new countdown started. Unable to believe what I had just heard, I asked: “Did you see that?! Holy shit! x20! This is the first time I see a rate like that!”

  “I know, right?!” the voice chat, supported by the vehicles and their Combat Liaison skill, burst into joyful screams. “And those cowards who left will get nothing!”

  Cursing the players who had quit instead of fighting back, we rejoiced and spoke to each other loudly until the landing crafts appeared at our temporary base. Running out of the crafts were lots of robots carrying pieces of equipment and teleportation circles. They started setting up the system I was only used to seeing ready-to-use before. The countdown stopped before half an hour had passed; the robots worked so quickly and seamlessly as a team that they were done with everything in twenty minutes. Tired but happy, we scattered to the appropriate teleports; infantry to the plain round ones, vehicles to the large square ones.

  Returning to the city square, I almost collapsed onto the ground. My weariness was overwhelming; I desperately needed some sleep. Selecting Exit in the menu, I waited for the supervisor’s face to appear before me. Muttering: “Please leave me alone”, I climbed out of the capsule, zombie walked to the couch and fell asleep the moment my head touched its hard surface.

  Chapter 9

  Waking up was hard; my whole body was aching as if I had been lifting something heavy and my head was buzzing. I had spent almost sixteen hours in the game!

  “Viktor?” Opening my eyes, I saw my supervisor’s anxious face.

  “Yes?” I propped myself on my elbow, getting closer to the girl. Embarrassed, she stepped back, putting on a strict face.

  “Lieutenant Maximov. If you’re awake, you may go home. I’m staying late at work only because of you.”

  Glancing at the clock, I gasped. Not only had I spent the whole day in the game, I had also been asleep for ten hours! Was she by my side the entire time?

  “Forgive me, Captain. I’ll go now.” I tried to stand, but my tired feet gave way. She had to support me with her shoulder. I couldn’t smell the usual perfume fragrance on her; instead, I sensed a note of sweat.

  Looks like she really couldn’t go home while I slept.

  “No. You’re too weak.” With a regretful glance, she put me back onto the couch. “Have a rest, Lieutenant. I’ll examine you and take notes.”

  “Looks like a long gaming session takes a toll on the body,” I decided to help her, sharing ideas about my condition. “I feel like I’d been unloading freight cars.”

  “That’s normal for our game.” She came to take a blood sample and measure my blood pressure and breathing rate, then returned to her table to write down the notes in her journal.

  “Those who’re used to gaming day and night may not be able to endure that,” I commented. “Hearts may fail.”

  “Thank you for the feedback. We’ll consider that,” she rebuffed me with a standard response.

  “I’m feeling better.” I got tired of lying down and made a more successful attempt at standing up. The girl stood up as well and came closer to observe me. She even had me do two forward leans and two squats. Only after I did those, although with effort, did she say that I could go. She then picked up her bag.

  “May I see you home?” I blurted, feeling guilty about her spending over 24 hours at work because of me.

  Instead of answering, she glared at me. I got embarrassed and left the building quickly, switching my smart device on. Apart from two missed calls from my parents, it had two angry messages from Masha heavily using the word “again”. So I plodded home, hoping she wouldn’t be there.

  Fortunately she was not. After a hot bath and a dinner, I fell onto the bed for some more sleep, my head still buzzing and my body demanding rest.

  ***

  I woke to the sound of the alarm clock squealing furiously from the subwoofers above the bed. “Home. Sound off,” I commanded without opening my eyes.

  The squealing sound stopped, and Home had a message for me: “Masha asked to call her once you wake up, Viktor. She’s away on business.”

  That made me get up and go to the kitchen to get myself a coffee. My throat was dry; the hot, invigorating liquid quickly brought me to.

  My body was still feeling the yesterday’s load. I wondered why it was that bad. I endured all that in the virtual world; why was my real body feeling such weariness? Why did these realistic sensations persist even after leaving the game? I had so many questions. The military was, apparently, not going to provide any answers, leaving uncertainty to torment me.

  “Home. Call Masha,” I asked, too lazy to go get my smart device.

  Her number instantly appeared on the video wall. Soon, her displeased voice came: “You’re totally out of line this time. What were you thinking? You didn’t even come home for the night!”

  “I couldn’t. I really couldn’t. I was too tired.” I shrugged and then realized tardily she could not see me.

  “Tired of gaming?!” Her voice was disbelieving. “How come? You could play day and night before. Are you getting old?”

  “Oh yeah, I am,” I said ironically. “Where are you? When are you coming home?”

  “At the TV studio.” Other people’s loud voices could be heard at the background. Masha added hurriedly: “Sorry, can’t talk anymore. Switch the TV on to see me.”

  She hung up at once. I turned the gaming news on. There she was, on Channel One again, with the whole team, telling the anchor about their experiences at the world tournament and about themselves, as people did in those long, full-fledged interviews.

  The part I hated the most was when the anchor woman started asking questions about their personal life. When it was Masha’s turn, she was asked about how I had taken her going to the tournament right after I had been dropped from the team.

  My girlfriend was not embarrassed at all and quickly answered that we were doing fine and that we had put that behind us. The other team members’ indifferent faces were tearing me apart, confirming that I was better off elsewhere than with them.

  “Home. Delete these names from the contact list.” I listed the names of all of my former friends, as well as the manager, removing them from my life for good. My mood was ruined. Switching off the news, I decided to take a walk.

  ***

  “Viktor,” Mariya greeted me with a smile at the entrance. For the past month I seemed to have broken through the supervisor’s coldness. Our communication became a bit friendlier, although it took some effort to get to that level.

  “Comrade Captain.” I bowed my head as a joke. “You look as beautiful as ever.”

  The girl waved her hand and her face became serious. “We made a large update yesterday. We’re embarking on the final testing stage. I hope to get a more detailed report about your experiences today.”

  “Really?” I was surprised. “Okay.”

  The military often issued new updates. Almost every week they would improve either the interface or the spacesuits or the starting city location. The game was developing so fast that I wondered how such a backward and unresponsive organization like theirs could be making such rapid progress.

  And the news
of the final testing stage was alarming. Does that mean I’m about to lose my job?

  I had made a considerable progress over the past month, almost reaching the credit amount needed to buy a fighter, so I couldn’t wait to see the update. It was rather depressing to see almost every other player becoming either a high-level infantry member with an alien tube, or a heavy machine driver. I had accumulated lots of skill slots and points, firmly deciding to level up only after purchasing my first fighter.

  My thoughtless withdrawal of all credits from the account back then had landed a powerful blow to my in-game spending capacity, postponing my desired purchase indefinitely. I saw other people already taking aircraft quests. But, no matter how much I regretted making that mistake, there was no way back. I had used the withdrawn funds to pay off the mortgage.

  Now I had to start from scratch, completing one quest after another. The x10 quests for the infantry class became extremely rare. Being denied access to high-quality quests, I now pursued quantity over quality in order to proceed at a decent rate. Although sometimes I could get an x10, such quests took longer than usual, making me spend more time in game than intended.

  My spirits high, I made my way downstairs. The first thing that caught my eye was, just like after the last major upgrade, the game capsule. No monstrous dimensions or unusual geometric shapes anymore; it was now a very conventional model, virtually indiscernible from the one I had at home, save for its material and the absence of advertising and brand stickers covering the commercial version.

  “Wow.” I was truly amazed. “That’s a real breakthrough, Mariya! You can sell this capsule and make a hell of a profit.”

  The girl nodded, gesturing me toward the couch. “Yes. The techs did a great job last night, installing the new capsules for all testers. They barely managed it in time.”