Continue Online The Complete Series

by Stephan Morse

  “He’s not anything this unit recognizes, which is amazing.” Treasure looked at the wall for a moment. Figures and numbers came up, but nothing was outright useful to me. I expected a name at least but ended up with question marks.

  “That is you, right, Dusk?” I asked the small creature. He nodded twice. “Should I ask for cupcakes?”

  The resulting circle of happiness on my shoulder made Dusk trip over his longer tail.

  “Still getting used to the new form?” I said.

  That resulted in a look of confusion from Treasure as she watched our back and forth. Dusk managed to shake his head while growling.

  “Do you know this creature?” she asked me with both eyebrows partway up. I guessed [Mechanoid]s did have eyebrows that responded like a human’s.

  “Probably. I think he followed me from another place.” I didn’t want to say game. There was no telling if the programs in this world were complex enough to understand. At least in Continue, I could tell an NPC pretty much anything without fear of them breaking.

  “This unit doesn’t understand.” Treasure sounded vaguely upset.

  “Neither do I.” I smiled and rubbed the tiny guy’s head. “Probably hitched a ride to visit me.”

  “This unit doesn’t understand.” She was stuck in a loop.

  “It’s an undiscovered species?” I offered an escape for her.

  Treasure’s eyes cleared up a little with an abrupt flash of gold light. “It certainly does not show up on any of our records, despite multiple scans. There seem to be pieces of lizard and something possibly Seraphic.” Treasure’s head tilted as she stared at Dusk with a slight glow to her eyes. “That would explain how he survived out in space.”

  “That’s the superhuman race. The ones who might be gods?” I remembered that name from the race choices. [Seraphic] was a limited race with no available options for me to choose.

  “Indeed. Many of them contain energy unlike any others in the galaxy.” She nodded as though all our confusion was cleared up by blaming [Seraphic] unknowns.

  I too blamed something divine. They just belonged in another game. But I nodded. Breaking rules sounded about right for Dusk. He came from the black space all those Voices resided in. Clearly he could cross between pieces of software. This wasn’t the first time he had broken through. Though how he’d managed to do so while the doorway was blocked by my sister’s restrictions didn’t make sense. Maybe it only functioned one way.

  “Well, I have a feeling he’ll be hanging around,” I said.

  “Then you’d better see Emerald. He’s the resident Domestic Trainer.” Treasure ran yet another scan upon Dusk, then giddily moved back to her screens to gaze at the results.

  “We have those?” I didn’t think robots, however human feeling, would train domestics.

  “Yes. You may choose to learn Emerald’s programming methods as one of your two specializations.” Treasure waved in my direction. She clearly cared more about the data on her screen than about me. It seemed our entire forty minutes of interaction had meant nothing to her. “Go to Emerald. He will advise you on the next step.”

  A task popped up again. The three optional ones I had bypassed seemed to have faded. Maybe they were only there to get me moving around the ship. I shrugged it off and waved good-bye to Treasure. She nodded and went back to the screens, where Dusk’s much clearer image sat on the wall.

  Hopefully his appearing here hadn’t broken the programming somehow. The little guy clearly altered things wherever he went. I remembered when he first came into my Atrium and destroyed glass that shouldn’t have been able to crack. The [Messenger’s Pet] had also chewed on a chair and destroyed numerous objects during one of my absences.

  I still couldn’t decide if he was more like a puppy, cat, or bird. Not that any of those applied now. Now he was possibly a space raptor, cat, critter. Dusk looked at everything to cross our path in search of prey as I walked toward Emerald.

  “Don’t you dare attack the ByteMites. I’m not sure what would happen,” I said to him.

  He glanced down, and his new raptor-like lips pulled back. A moment later, he lifted his head and stuck a tongue out at me while hissing.

  Dusk was a digital creature like Xin, but he could cross between programs. Maybe my fiancée could exist as a weird cat-raptor thing somewhere. I shuddered and tried not to follow that line of thinking. Spending time going down that rabbit hole would lead nowhere useful and leave me full of suspicions. Doctor Litt said to focus on one task at a time and then move forward.

  “Well, we’ll see what this task is all about. Cleaning the ship’s hull was kind of dull,” I said. The idle chat felt halfhearted.

  Thoughts of the Voices and Hal Pal worried me while Dusk and I traveled. Luckily we avoided any real trouble. Emerald was in yet another random room on this decently sized ship.

  Walking in revealed a room unlike any other upon the [Wayfarer Seven]. Treasure’s room had been amazingly robotic, full of sensor gadgets and electronic doodads. Most of my [Mechanoid] experience involved smooth corners and metallic objects, but this room was the opposite and full of leafy greens. Small cages of shimmering glass lined both walls. Inside each were animals with small habitats. Outside and all around the room, larger plants sat in carefully controlled clumps.

  “Neat,” I said.

  “Welcome, Brother Hermes. Treasure told me to expect you.” Emerald had been one of the trio to greet me upon loading. Only he called me brother instead of unit.

  “Did she tell you about this little guy?” I pointed at Dusk.

  The small creature leapt off my shoulder without untangling his tail. We awkwardly jerked forward while Dusk hissed and tried to work his elongated limb.

  “This unit was informed of an unidentified creature showing interest in one of our members.” Emerald also had two tones, but they were much harder to pick out. Both were calm and steady.

  Dusk finally untangled himself, and I stood. Soon the transformed [Messenger’s Pet] was running full tilt around the room, looking at everything. I stayed ready to intercept a falling plant or broken cage, but everything seemed well anchored.

  “Right. I was told you could help?”

  “I can. I maintain the programming cores for Domestic Trainer units. The information for this core should be coming across your interface now.” Emerald shifted his head to peer around the room. He appeared to be visually checking the cages to see how they reacted to Dusk.

  Indeed, it did. A small box popped up telling me what [Core]s were and all about the [Domestic Trainer] class. It seemed familiar, almost like Continue Online’s [Messenger’s Pet] – [Companion, Exotic] ability.

  Core: [Domestic Core]

  Coloring: Light Green

  Roles: Attacker, Soloist

  Difficulty: Complex

  Details: [Mechanoid] units engage in numerous fields of study. As such, they’ve found a way to use spare processing capability to enhance their performance in each field. This one involves training or cooperating with non-[Mechanoid] lifeforms to accomplish a task. Upon choosing this [Core], the following items will unlock:

  Domestic Commands Skill Tree

  Details regarding chosen partner’s race and stats will be visible

  Mood meter and preferences will display

  Command Boosts [Attack], [Heel], and [Defend] will be programmed

  Note: Additional programming options will unlock based upon performance with your chosen partner(s).

  Note: [Mechanoid] units can only support two [Core]s at a time. Choose wisely. Removal of a [Core] will result in data loss and chassis downgrading.

  I shrugged. Dusk was worth having as one of my [Core]s. I didn’t feel right without him along anyway. Between this and my two-handed laser sword, things were almost back to normal. In space. As normal as deep space got. Maybe he would eat small aliens to help things feel better.

  “Sounds good. How do I sign up?”

  “It’s simple enough, Brother Her
mes. Simply take this core and place it on your chest.” Emerald walked closer. Despite his slight hunch, the [Mechanoid] was tall.

  I raised an eyebrow, or hoped one went up, then took the light green [Core] from Emerald. Maybe he had another class of botany or something similar to get that second green color to his shell.

  “Do be careful, Brother. This unit recalls the process feeling very disconcerting.”

  “Thanks.” I put it against my chest with a bit of hesitation.

  Dusk tilted and chirped as the [Core] flashed brightly. Warmth spread through my body. Hammering hit both ears as my heartbeat sped up. I felt dizzy as if I had rushed to stand, then dove into a giant hot tub. A slight numbness rippled by seconds later as the [Core] sank into my chest.

  By the end of it, I wanted to huff and shake. The strange part was my body didn’t feel short of breath—merely overloaded by a rush of sensations. Dusk chirped again, and I brushed off the feelings.

  Emerald had moved on to tend to one of the many plants. The slight hunch to his body looked more obvious from the back. Dusk roamed around the room, staring hungrily at small creatures.

  “You can’t get them. They’re locked up tight,” Emerald said to my small friend.

  I let them talk while I focused on a pop-up box in front of me.

  Attention unit identified as Hermes!

  Please provide a name to your companion.

  I typed Dusk but erased it and input a different name first. Upon filling in the blank with “Sniffles the Second,” my little buddy, Dusk, hissed and spat. It wasn’t a ball of fire but a green glop that sizzled and burned. The letters fell right out of my naming box.

  “Brother Hermes!” Emerald chided. I saw my contribution points go down by four. “Please avoid any attack boost commands within my room. Go to one of the combat zones if you wish to practice.”

  “Sorry. I must have upset him,” I said.

  Dusk huffed in my direction. I wondered how he had survived outside without air yet seemed perfectly willing to breathe in here. More programming magic, I was sure.

  Finally, I input “Dusk” into the naming interface. That made him happy. My other task of finding him pastries seemed unlikely on a [Mechanoid] ship. None of the objects in Emerald’s room looked like pastries.

  “Neat.” I did have a few new icons talking about commands. They all implied a bonus to their action if the chosen partner, Dusk, performed within the duration supplied. Maybe pressing the attack one would result in a giant ball of acid the next time he attacked.

  Part of me was stunned at having real buttons to focus on. Continue Online involved more personal movement. Action by concentration and physical motions. Advance felt button happy.

  “Do you seek additional knowledge from this unit, Brother?” Emerald said.

  I wondered once again about the dual green coloring, then shook it off. Maybe they had a mirror somewhere so I could see how the [Core] had changed me. “I’m good, I think. Where is this combat zone?”

  “On floor one of our ship. Are you planning to learn combat patterns to help contribute?” The [Mechanoid] looked at me with an unwavering expression.

  “It never hurts to learn self-defense,” I answered, my shoulders bunched up in an awkward shrug. Screaming people in customer service were easier to deal with than explaining my need to learn combat.

  “This is true. Space is unpredictable at times. All of our people should be prepared,” Emerald said.

  The older [Mechanoid] looked pleased that I would be willing to fight if need be. I hadn’t thought about Advance Online being like Continue in terms of playstyle freeform. It made sense that some people chose to do nothing but craft things here in space.

  How neat would it be to work on making a giant spaceship? Part of me could imagine the joy people felt when creating boats in a bottle, or putting cars together by hand. There was something satisfying about completing a task without outside assistance.

  “Thank you, Emerald. Is it all right if I come back with other questions?” I asked.

  “That would be welcome, Brother Hermes.” Emerald glanced at me, and for a moment, he seemed like an old man blinking slowly. The hunch might be age catching up with his programming. “Please continue finding your own path toward great contribution.”

  I nodded and waved good-bye.

  Dusk hissed once at some creature inside a cage. The thing he had cornered was slightly larger and intent upon chittering while frothing. Finally, my little friend turned and sped through the doorway after me.

  Another marker sat on my interface, pointing toward the ship’s lower level. My player map and gravity didn’t match up, so I ended up climbing two flights by using a ladder. Maybe this vehicle wasn’t big enough to warrant an elevator. Somewhere around floor three, the ladder up shifted.

  I was in the process of lowering myself when gravity ceased to matter. My legs floated. Dusk squawked with alarm. His little shoulders rippled in a habitual motion from his wing-bearing days.

  “Is this the middle of the ship?” I asked.

  Dusk didn’t answer me since he was focused on scrambling to find purchase. He ended up with his tail wrapped around something, and glared.

  Floating in zero-g while not being lost in space felt exciting. A good ten minutes passed while I bounced between walls and tested out where the pulls in various directions stopped.

  I had no idea why gravity suspended in the ship’s middle. Especially since I thought the ladders had been going up. Maybe the vehicle used some centrifugal force along with the right metals to replicate gravity. Maybe my [Mechanoid] boots were super heavy.

  But after ten minutes and many confused stares from [Mechanoid]s going about their day, I pushed back to the ladder and climbed down. Or up—well, toward floor one.

  The combat floor seemed to be run by Iron. He was busy watching another player perform. I knew it was a player from the symbol above his head. Having an interface to show those things felt far too convenient.

  I grabbed a corner to watch. The player seemed to be fighting in hand-to-hand combat with another person. Not a [Mechanoid] though—it resembled more of a short, squat orangutan. Iron nodded in my direction, which might indicate approval or awareness of my presence.

  Studying the player was helpful though. It gave me an idea of how to move and what to do. I had spent a lot of time watching Shazam in Continue Online to learn how she performed.

  Destroyed monsters fell, then melted into the floor. More would spawn, which made the other player shake and focus. He went through three waves with ever-increasing numbers before failing and restarting the program.

  I couldn’t stand waiting anymore. “Iron, is it all right if I use the one over there?”

  “Unit Hermes. Please ensure the safety’s enabled until I say otherwise.” Iron actually had eyelids. The man was a full head taller than me, which felt confusing.

  Mostly because he had eyelids. Were those an upgrade that I needed to spend contribution on? The idea of buying cosmetic improvements with virtual karma points made me smile. Maybe for one thousand contributions, I could get fingernails.

  “All right. Thank you.” I moved to the other side of the room.

  Unlike my prior experience with a combat trainer, this area seemed to be clearly divided into two sections. There were squares in the middle and two giant rings on either side. At the edge of each ring was a four-foot-high podium.

  I went to the unused side’s podium, then found easy options to set combat to whatever level desired. Based on a visual of the other person, they were operating at a super low setting and still failing. Those days felt familiar to me. Only a few months ago, depending on relative time perception, I had been that person.

  “Okay, Dusk. We’ll go with easy and work our way up.”

  The modified [Messenger’s Pet] leapt on top of the pedestal and sniffed. His nose brushed the screen but didn’t seem to register any of the controls. I tracked down my weapons and prepared the giant la
ser sword. Maintaining familiarity in fighting style would be the best option.

  Dusk made a noise as the ground rolled together and formed the enemy. The creature was waist-high with four arms. The system identified it as a [Squatting Moleman]. In theory, they were both weak and stupid. To me, that meant easy to predict their movements.

  First thing, testing weapons. Specifically, lasers.

  The [Squatting Moleman] stood there picking its nose. Or it tried to, but its four arms were terrible at the task. One would slap away another to take its place. I shook my head, readied one arm, and prepared to fire.

  A small targeting reticle came into being, showing me where the shot was projected to land. Being a robot was neat if everything came with an assist. I would be willing to bet those pesky human players didn’t get anything nearly this good.

  The shot went wide. Dusk’s tail flipped back and forth in agitation. The [Squatting Moleman] flicked a booger made of metal in my direction. It clinked onto my body, leaving me both disgusted and five health lower.

  I stepped closer, since clearly even with the target assistance, my ability to aim sucked. The monster eyed me, then promptly slapped itself. This time, my laser hit and did maybe ten percent damage.

  However, it moved in. I tried to [Blink] out of the way from old habits. [Morrigu’s Gift] and [Morrigu’s Echo], my weapons from Continue Online, didn’t respond. My only good option was kicking at the small creature and lasering again.

  It made sense that the other player was failing. Getting used to new skills from a low-level point of view was terrible. Still, I managed to escape two tiny fists going for my thigh. The small creature put out another double-fister from the other side, which rolled off some of my health.

  I handled the hit well though. The time spent cleaning the outside of the ship had increased my ability to command this new body. Plus, I had been pelted by small bits of dirt and dust, which increased the [Endurance] trait.

  A piddly laser blast wasn’t the only weapon in my [Combat Loadout]. My giant beam sword, which really needed a neat name, activated with a quick jolt. Metal from my arm rippled to form the hilt. A button on the side activated a long blade made of energy. All of this happened while my legs automatically dodged back from the small offensive creature.