by Anthea Sharp
Her opponent let out a last moan, and the interface showing his vitality winked to black.
Victory! The word blinked across her visor. Play Again?
Spark lifted her finger, toggling the No.
“Mom says now, or else,” Rosie said, tapping Spark’s shoulder.
“Yeah. I know.” Spark scrolled through the standings. There—top of the solo plays. Spark Jaxley.
Grinning, she lifted her helmet. Untangling a lock of her magenta hair from the visor, she set it aside, then stripped off her gaming gloves.
“Did you win?” Rosie asked, squinting at the sim equip.
“Yes. Barely.” Spark slid out of the chair. “Smells like potatoes.”
Her little sister nodded. “I’m tired of them.”
Spark was, too, but she gave her sister an encouraging smile. “You know Mom and Dad are saving to send Jake to university this fall.”
“But we’ll have to eat potatoes for years,” Rosie said. “You want to go to college too, and then me.”
“Don’t worry.” Spark squeezed her little sister’s shoulders. “I’ve got a plan.”
Whether or not she could talk her parents into it, though…
They didn’t understand about her gaming. Didn’t realize that the money could be more than the handful of small sponsorships she’d picked up in the last year.
Winning the national title was big. But the World Gaming Championships were coming up in two months. The prize money alone was significant, but Spark had her sights set on something bigger.
VirtuMax, the top sim-gaming company in the world, had announced it was going to select a winner from the international competition to become their representative gaming star. Rumors were that they were developing a top-secret gaming system, better than any sim equipment built to-date, with an amazing interface and fantastic new immersive content to go with it.
Spark was determined to win the tournament’s solo category. And even more set on scooping up the VirtuMax sponsorship.
She just had to talk her parents into letting her compete, which was going to be the toughest part of all.
“No,” her dad said, passing the potatoes to Mom. “We can’t afford to send you to Japan for some gaming thing.”
“But Dad—”
“Shut it,” Jake said, frowning at Spark. “I can’t believe you’re even asking them to do this. You know it’s hard enough saving up for uni for me.”
Inwardly, Spark seethed at her brother. If only her family could see what a great chance this was.
“It’s during break, so I won’t miss any school. And the gaming club said they’d help with finances.”
“We don’t need handouts,” her mom said, spooning some mashed potatoes onto Nana’s plate. “We’re managing now, as long as we don’t try to plan extravagant trips around the world.”
Managing—barely. Spark glanced around the table. Three kids, her parents, plus Nana and Papa, all surviving on Dad’s paycheck. Things had been easier when Mom still worked, but then Spark’s elderly grandparents had needed to move in with them, and Mom became their full-time caregiver.
Not that Spark resented Nana and Papa. Family was important… which was why she had to get to Tokyo for the international competition. It was the best thing she could do to take care of her family.
“Let’s say you win this thing,” Dad said, glancing at her. “Then what?”
“If I can get the VirtuMax sponsorship, it’s worth a lot of money,” she said. “Enough to get Jake through university, plus save some for when it’s my turn, and Rosie’s. Then you guys could hire someone to help, and Mom could have more time.”
“You’re not dropping out of high school to play sim games,” her mom said, her tone stern. “That’s not a viable career path. You know we want better for you kids than what we had.”
“But Mom, gaming is a real thing,” Rosie piped up.
Spark glanced gratefully at her sister. At least somebody understood.
“Eat your potatoes,” their mother said. “We’re done talking about this.”
“Well, now,” Papa said in his slow, calm voice. “Maybe Sparkie has a point. Maybe she can do this.”
“I can,” Spark said. “I promise. And VirtuMax provides tutors and stuff. It wouldn’t be like dropping out. I’d still get an education.”
“Enough.” Her dad set down his fork and gave her a pointed look. “Right now, our focus is on Jake. Maybe next year you can do the world tournament.”
Next year would be too late. VirtuMax would have picked their sim star.
But Spark kept her mouth shut. Arguing any more would just make her parents more set against her going.
She let the dinner conversation wash around her: Jake’s plans for on-campus housing, Rosie’s current vid obsession, Papa’s slow commentary on the weather. Nana didn’t talk, but then, she was generally in some other world. Usually the past.
Dad didn’t say much, either. He’d been working long hours and, glancing at the tired lines around his eyes, Spark wanted to apologize for asking for them to send her to the tournament. If only they understood how much her winning would mean—for all of them.
“Help me back to my chair, Sparkie,” Papa said when they’d finished eating. “The dishes can wait.”
Mom was already off with Nana, tucking her into bed, and Dad didn’t seem to care if the table got cleared right away.
“Of course.” Spark helped her grandfather stand, then carefully guided him to the overstuffed recliner where he spent much of his time.
He sat, somewhat shakily, and kept hold of her hand.
“Listen,” he said in a low voice. “I want you to take my silver dollar collection. Use it to get to that game competition you want to attend.”
A lump rose in Spark’s throat. “I can’t do that.”
He patted her hand. “I insist. There’s a rare Morgan in there that should sell for plenty.”
“But you need that money.”
He smiled at her. “You can pay me back. I believe in you, honey. Now, I keep that collection under the mattress. Soon as your mom leaves the bedroom, I want you to go in and get it.”
“I…” Spark blinked back tears. She shouldn’t do it. Her family was barely making ends meet. If Papa sold that coin for the family, instead, it was guaranteed money.
“Promise me,” Papa said. “Go and win that competition. Tell your parents your school had a donor who gave you the funds. All right?”
She swallowed and concentrated on staying calm. Bursting into tears would be a dead giveaway to the rest of the family.
She drew in a shaky breath. “Okay. I love you, Papa.”
“I love you, too.” He squeezed her hand, then closed his eyes. “I’ll be cheering for you.”
This one’s for you, Papa.
Spark flicked her fingers, the gaming gloves turning the movement into a half dozen torpedoes zinging out from her spacecraft. They locked onto her target, the enemy ship Assassin, and began exploding against the shields.
The watching crowd of several thousand people let out a cheer, the sound like the roar of waves, and she knew that millions more were viewing the gaming championships livestream.
Her grandpa was cheering her on, too—but not from this world. Not any more.
Two weeks before she was due to leave for Tokyo, he’d fallen in the kitchen. She and her siblings had been at school, and Mom was bathing Nana. By the time her mom found Papa, he’d slipped into unconsciousness.
Three days later, he was gone.
In the stunned aftermath, nobody challenged Spark’s announcement that she was going to the tournament. Although she’d winced at the lie, it was true that there had been a donor. Just not an anonymous one through the school. Dad had agreed to let her go, since the money was there, and Mom had signed the paperwork in a fog. Maybe trying to make amends to Papa.
“It’s not your fault,” Spark had said, giving her mom a hug. “You and Dad both know that having Na
na and Papa here was the best thing for them. For all of us.” No matter how financially difficult, it was still a lot cheaper than a nursing home, and they’d gotten way better care.
“He would have wanted to go like that,” Jake said. “You know he didn’t want to fade away.”
Mom had scrubbed the tears from her face and nodded, but Spark suspected it would take a long time for the shadow of guilt in her eyes to fade.
Spark’s grief over Papa tangled up with insane excitement that she was actually signed up for the World Championships—ticket bought, hotel booked. When she’d stepped out of the plane in Narita Airport, she’d been thrilled to see fans waiting, wearing magenta wigs to show their allegiance.
“Spark!” they’d screamed. “Spark Jaxley!”
Despite the mix of emotions spiraling through her, she’d blasted through the prelims. Now it was down to her, the Korean world champion Jae-jin, a girl from Norway named Asa, and a surprisingly skilled contender from South Africa, Enzokuhle.
But Enzo wouldn’t be in the competition much longer, if Spark had any say in the matter. His ship, the Assassin, was going down.
Enzo’s ship returned fire, but she was already twisting away, using the gravity well of a nearby collapsing star to pull her own craft out of range. She planned to slingshot around and come at him point blank, lasers firing.
It was a move that would either wipe her out of the competition entirely, or advance her to the final round. But then, taking calculated risks was the essence of gaming. Balancing on the edge of challenge and skill, pushing your limits, and then, having stacked the odds in your favor as much as possible, rolling the dice.
“Come on,” she murmured under her breath as the control panel of her ship started to flash red.
Too much stress, too much torque.
The stars blurred in her vision as the insane pull of the gravity well warped space around her ship. It was all she could do to keep the controller pointed forward. Sweat prickled the back of her neck, stung her eyes.
The interface began to shake. Sirens sounded, echoing through her head. From someplace far away, she heard the crowd yelling. For her, against her, it didn’t matter.
Warning. Implosion in three seconds. The alert flashed across her visor.
Almost. There.
Two seconds.
The claxons drowned out everything except her heartbeat. She kept her eyes, and ship, pointed ahead, to a single bright point of light floating beyond the well.
One.
Her ship burst free, almost on top of the Assassin, and Spark clenched her hands, activating her laser array. A brilliant, deadly rain shot out, covering her enemy.
“No way!” Enzo shouted. “Dammit, Jaxley.”
He twisted, trying to maneuver his ship out of the way, but it was too late.
Laughing, Spark flipped her craft over as she shot past, keeping the Assassin under heavy fire. She was upside down, her own ship shaking to bits, but Enzo went down first.
A beautiful blossom of light exploded across her visor. The Assassin was gone.
WINNER flashed in green letters across her vision. Round complete.
Somewhere, she hoped Papa was smiling.
She lifted her helmet to the deafening cheers of the crowd. More and more people sported pink hair now, even the guys. She dabbed the sweat out of her eyes, then got out of her sim chair and waved. The noise got even louder.
Across from her, Enzo stepped out of his rig.
“Good game,” he said, extending his hand.
“You too.” She gave him a firm handshake. “I mean it—you’re a prime gamer.”
“You’re better.” He grinned. “Now go wipe that smug look off Jae-jin’s face.”
They both turned, to see the Korean bowing and waving from his side of the stage. Asa, his opponent, was scowling, her arms folded across her white uniform. Clearly, the Norwegian had lost the match.
Which left Spark up against Jae-jin in the final round of solo competition. Winner take all.
Nobody knew which games were going to be selected for the competitions. The early rounds had included puzzles, turn-based battles, and farming sims, as well as a PVP jousting tournament and a crazy spin-race. The space battle had been fun, but Spark wondered what was next.
They wouldn’t know until that evening, when the final match began. Rumors flew all over the place, but she tried not to speculate. Not to worry.
All anyone knew for certain was that VirtuMax had created content specifically for the solo category of the World Gaming Championships. Whoever beat it would scoop up their sponsorship—not to mention a fat winner’s purse.
Two security guards had been detailed to escort each of the finalists from their rooms to the various tournament events. At first, Spark had thought it was silly—until she saw how the fans pushed forward, begging for autographs, a selfie with her, a lock of her magenta hair.
Without her two guards, she would have been overwhelmed, drowned in a sea of adoration.
Well, mostly adoration.
There were a few griefers with holo-signs saying Girls Go Home and Sidekick Jaxley. She did her best to ignore them, and to interact with her fans as much as possible without being crushed.
It was exhausting, though, especially as she made her way back to her room to rest up for the final round. She’d never considered this aspect of being a sim-star. Even the national competition hadn’t given her this kind of notoriety. If she won, would she be able to handle it?
Jae-jin would, for sure. All the streams and vids showed him acting like the king of the world. Of course, he was mega-famous already, having won the last two years’ solo competitions. She’d heard that on the darkweb, he was strongly favored to win. Millions of credits were riding on the outcome of the championship.
And her entire future.
Don’t think about that.
Spark stepped through the door of her hotel suite. One of the guards stayed outside, while the other, a woman named Pril, came in with her. The noise lessened as the door slid closed, and Spark let out a sigh of relief.
“You’re doing good,” Pril said. “Hang in there.”
“I thought you didn’t game,” Spark said with a tired smile.
“Yah, I don’t. But my kids do.” The guard gave her a serious look. She pretty much always looked serious. “Get some rest, then eat something.”
It was good advice. Spark nodded and went to the inner bedroom, leaving the guard behind. A nap was a good idea. She’d pretty much adjusted to the time change, but adrenaline had kept her up the night before, tossing and turning in the unfamiliar bed.
Now though, the cushioned platform looked way inviting. Shower first, though. Her dark green gaming uniform was sticky and probably a little smelly. For the final round, she’d be changing into the fancy turquoise costume sponsored by Zing. They’d coughed up some money, too, though most of her expenses had been covered by that one coin of Papa’s she’d sold.
She’d felt so guilty, going through the stack of silver dollars, pricing them on the ‘net. But he’d been right. One of them, with a beautiful woman’s head on one side, had been worth a lot.
The rest weren’t nearly as valuable, and she’d put them back in the beat-up plastic box and tucked it under the mattress. Did her parents even know the collection was there?
Once she got home, she’d “find” them while making the bed or something. But first, she had a championship to win.
Spark waited in the wings, trying to calm her jitters. She tucked her hands under her arms to warm up her fingers and concentrated on breathing. Her heartbeat pulsed in her throat, but she knew that once she got in the sim chair, she’d be okay. On the brightly-lit stage, the announcer was thanking the sponsors, especially VirtuMax.
Jae-jin arrived, surrounded by a retinue of women in gauzy dresses and men in suits. He glanced at Spark, lip curling.
“You’re going to lose,” he said, his tone flat. “Time to go home, gamer-girl.”
/>
One of the women giggled, though it wasn’t funny.
Spark arched an eyebrow at him—a move that always worked on her brother. “We’ll see.”
Before he could throw any more insults her way, a loud trumpet blast sounded over the speakers. Their cue to enter.
“And now, our final two competitors in the ultimate match of the night,” the announcer said in his overly-cheery voice. “Please welcome Spark Jaxley. And our reigning World Champion in the solo-gamer category, Jae-jin Kim!”
The crowd responded with a cheer loud enough it was like a wind, whipping Spark’s hair back. She stepped forward, trying not to squint under the glare of the floodlights, and waved as though she could actually see the faces in the audience.
She went to stand beside her sim rig. Jae-jin took his place opposite, and she was glad she couldn’t see him scowling at her.
“The competition tonight, as you’ll see, will be a dangerous race through a treacherous dungeon.” The announcer swept his arm at the huge screens overhead. “You’ll be able to watch as our heroes challenge themselves against this all-new content, specially created by VirtuMax to push them to their limits. Are you ready?”
The audience screamed yes in a dozen different languages.
“Gamers?” The announcer turned his slightly ironic smile toward Spark and Jae-jin.
“Always,” the champion said, his voice smug. “I am ready to win.”
“You’ll have to beat me first.” Spark shot him a tight grin.
Ignoring the reactions of the crowd, the announcer gestured at them to gear up. “Talk all you like, but the game will make the final decision. Make ready, competitors. Your challenge awaits.”
Spark’s focus narrowed to the gleaming sim chairs embossed with the VirtuMax logo, the sheen of light across her gaming helmet, the winking, gemlike LEDs on her gloves. The equip was brand new, though it had been tested thoroughly by an impartial tech team to make sure everything was legit.
Three years ago, one of the sim systems had been tampered with, handicapping the favored player. They’d caught it right before the final competition, and since then, the World Gaming Society had been extra careful.
