When Andy walked, his legs moved the exoskeleton. Suspended in the pod, he would not go anywhere. But in the simulation, he felt the ground below and visually moved through his environment with every step.
Anything, motion or movement done in the pod could be captured by the exoskeleton and “reflected” into the sim. Anything that happened in the sim could be reflected via the exoskeleton, within safety margins, like the DEVO’s that ate Keith alive.
Driving a vehicle, flying an aircraft or operating a sophisticated weapons system required the same exact movements and dexterity as in real life from which each of those things were indistinguishable.
Such was the realism right down to what you felt with your fingers or on your skin that if a human had been placed into the H-Pod while asleep, they would have no hint that everything that was surrounding them, in fact, was a digital environment. One that they could also physically experience with every sense.
Next to the pod was a dressing area, with a bathroom and shower. Andy grabbed a quick shower and then slathered on the lotion that would help the SecondSkin suit meld to his skin and nerve endings.
Dressed only in a bathrobe Andy took the SecondSkin from its humidor that kept it precisely hydrated and at the correct temperature of the human body. He hung it on a hook. The suit looked like a human had been skinned, or more accurately like Andy had been skinned and left to hang there. The suit was an exact replication of his skin down to the picometer or one trillionth of a meter.
Andy activated a small switch on the collar. The suit at the neck expanded to a size larger than his physical body. Removing his robe, he took it from its hook and slid into it one leg at a time through the expanded opening. He then pulled the rest up over his upper body before slipping his arms into their portions. With the suit now encasing him up to the top of his neck, Andy felt a series of vibrations as the suit calibrated, essentially shrink-wrapping itself to his body as it melded to him. Within a few seconds, the suit looked to be his natural skin; but hairless and smooth with a slippery fish like texture.
Moving to the pod, Andy pushed a button on a control panel. The device separated in the middle just above an attached external ladder. The upper part rose while the lower one remained in place. Andy climbed the ladder and swung his body over the side so that his feet hovered over the bottom exoskeleton then slid his legs down into each one. He donned a hood and encased his head, which also melded with the rest of the suit. Including the contact lenses Andy wore both in and out of the pod. Everything went black as expected, but only for another moment or two.
A bright lobby came into view as did Eric, the AE or Artificial Entity, assigned to keeping his systems and server in optimal condition.
“Good evening, sir. When you are ready for me to close the pod please place your arms into the upper portion.”
Reaching up Andy found the slots for each arm. The pod lowered onto his arms and upper body.
“About thirty seconds, sir.”
Andy ignored him; it was an official announcement that provided information to him and nothing more. He long ago abandoned engaging it in polite conversation, regardless of how human and real the program appeared.
The exoskeleton compressed around him. The bladder soon created a neutral pressure, and after a few seconds of calibrating Andy could no longer detect the exoskeleton, his body was a full part of the system now.
“All set, sir.”
Andy, now fully digitized and dressed in his Voracious Soldiers battle suit moved past Eric and stepped into a transporter. Andy turned as he got inside to face his assistant who looked on approvingly from the lobby.
“VSC, sir?”
Eric was asking if he wanted him to select the destination for him, in this case, the Voracious Soldier’s Compound.
“Yes.”
“Good hunting, sir.”
The door to the teleporter closed. A second or two later it slid open; the bright lobby replaced with olive green. In front of a large VS emblem and welcoming sign stood Logan McMillan, also dressed in his battle suit.
Andy’s face beamed with happiness to see his friend, but then a look of confusion came over him as he noted the other two official-looking individuals standing next to Logan in dark suits, one a Caucasian man the other an Asian.
“I’m sorry, Andy. I think this is way out of control.” Logan nodded to the men next to him. “This is Agent Pete Calum and Agent Robert Wu. They’re with the FBI’s Metaverse Crimes Team.”
Chapter Thirty
After leaving Phoenix, Lindel and Bowen drove all night. Each took turns watching Mia in the bedroom at the back of the RV. The auto-drive function took them north while the other grabbed some shut eye. Each was gentlemen enough to let her have the bed while they laid down on a couch just forward of the room.
Lindel had no intention of removing the gag or letting her move around more freely until they got to their destination. He didn’t need her banging against a window or calling for help if they stopped somewhere, or alerting a cop.
While Lindel slept on the couch, Bowen racked his brain about how this was going to go down and ultimately how it would play out for him. He fancied himself a cold-blooded killer, but that was in the zone.
While some might not equate “killing” in a simulation with real life, no one undertaking the experience would know the difference, killing like dying and everything else in full emersion VR remained indistinguishable from the physical act. Reality, virtual or not, was now only a point of reference of where you were at a given time, either in-world or out. Beyond that, what had been an existence in the real world blurred and often was eclipsed by life in-world, particularly if you emerged yourself into that world 24/7.
RPG, or Role-Playing Games, had been around for decades. The craze first became notable in the 1980’s with some well published incidents, including the disappearance of a teenage boy in the utility tunnels below Michigan State University. The teenager was obsessed with a version of “Dungeons and Dragons” and disappeared into the steam tunnels, so called because of the steam pipes that ran through them.
The game was said to be so compelling that it led devotees to a kind of psychological separation from what mattered in life. Work, school, family all took a back seat to epic games, often played live with a “Dungeon Master” controlling the outcomes of a specific action by rolling dice or calculating odds of success of a certain tactic or magical spell.
Even with their Styrofoam swords, plastic shields, and thrown together clothing, the players transformed themselves through their collective imagination into another world. A realm some never wanted to leave; when they did, they obsessed about returning.
Video games replaced much of these live RPG’s and algorithms replaced the Dungeon Masters. While those video games, particularly on a large screen could be incredibly compelling, they paled in comparison with virtual reality, first the primitive headsets and exo-mitts. Next came the intermediate emersion, pairing a smooth wetsuit like garment with an exoskeleton and later the H-Pod. The I-suit, advanced as it was when paired with the H-Pod, still created a physical barrier between the biologic and the digital and one could not remain 24/7 for an assortment of limiting factors, not the least of which was sustenance.
The real game changer, however, was when SecondSkin arrived. Coupled with Nutrient, one could fully emerge themselves into what became known as the Metaverse and live there 24/7. Many went there to have a higher standard of living; digital homes, cars, luxury items cost much less than real ones. One could work or go to school while in-world. So compelling was the Metaverse with its different cities, worlds and endless things to do that it became a full-time existence for many.
One could instantly teleport places, live different lives, visit countless sims that were replications of places on earth or otherworldly. You could be part of an epic adventure with storylines that could go on for eternity. Or if you grew bored fighting dragons or zombies or aliens you might cool your heels and live fo
r a while during the Victorian era on a country estate, or perhaps were the king or queen; experienced in such a fashion that Henry the Eighth or Queen Victoria would not know otherwise. Such reality often caused disappointment for many when they returned to real life.
Some people found the most compelling thing to do was to enter realms where they could live out adventures. Not just watch it on a screen, but materially be a part of it. Physically there, through the merging of SecondSkin, they could touch, taste, smell, and hear just as they did in the real world. They could be sexually intimate with another person or an Artificial Entity. Real life became indistinguishable from a digitized one.
It wasn’t long before companies like Digital Adventures catered to that desire, even finding a way to make it profitable not just to themselves but to players or “adventurers” who were successful in their exploits.
The Dead Zone was one such adventure. People became obsessed with it, some unhealthily so. Les Bowen no longer existed, replaced by an in-world persona that could cross dimensions, including IRL. That persona was a killer and a cruel one.
His partner, Jerry Lindel was in his mid-50’s. He was not unlike many of the adventurers who joined him in-world. Middle aged people from all walks of life often had more expendable income and time to purchase the custom made SecondSkins, as well as a personal H-Pod housed in their home, or condo building. Many had pods at their various vacation homes around the globe, giving them the option of enjoying that physical location while still being able to have the in-world experiences they enjoyed. The RPG adventures particularly in the Dead Zone tended to be populated by twenty and thirty somethings as a rule along with a lot of college age or younger people making up the balance.
Lindel was a bit of anomaly among the Outfitters in the Dead Zone in that he had the resources to buy a full membership and join an infiltration team, something he did initially. He found that he cared little for the para-military structure, training and not the least the physical conditioning each of the teams demanded of any Probie before they could deploy into the zone as part of a unit.
Lindel, perhaps due to his age and station in real life saw himself in a leadership position, not the early-twenty-something commander in charge of the team that he had to take instructions from and who screamed at him during physical training, prompting him to quit the teams and go into the zone as a rogue. The gold, while nice was not necessary to maintain himself either in-world or out. It was a way to keep score and reward a winning effort.
The zone had changed both kidnappers and for the better as far as they were concerned. No longer the mild-mannered bookish imp that so many would find nondescript if they passed him on the street Jerry Lindel was now a respected leader of a powerful Outfit. Bowen, rather than the meek, invisible college student was his second in command. They were ruthless killers in-world and if need be, IRL.
The first rays of the sun rising over the horizon penetrated the RV’s windshield announcing a new day and a new online life for both. The plan was coming together. They would soon be back to the place both desired more than any other; financially secure to remain there for as long as either liked.
With nothing IRL that could compare, it was unlikely Bowen or Lindel would soon be lured out. If the woman in the back needed to be sacrificed to make that happen, then her life was a small price to pay, at least for them.
Chapter Thirty-One
“What the hell’s going on, Logan?”
“I’m sorry, man. I’m just trying to look out for you and Mia.”
“Yeah well, you may have just signed her death warrant and maybe mine, if anything happens to her…” Andy’s head slumped down along with his emotions.
“We’re here to see that it doesn’t, Mr. Crawley.”
Andy looked up across the mahogany table to Agent Calum. All four of them had teleported to the Metaverse Crimes Team office in New Polis and now sat in the conference room. With a population of fifty million humans and sentient beings, the huge digital city would dwarf New York City, Paris, London and Los Angeles put together. It was the hub of all activity in the Metaverse and even for much of the real world as every major corporation had offices in the downtown business district scattered among the skyscrapers too numerous to count.
“As soon as Digital Adventures finds out about the extortion they will pull the trophy. It’s obvious this Christopher Harvey, or ‘Keith,’ had some inside information from his dad.” Andy glared at Logan as he spoke to Calum.
“Trophy?”
Andy’s eyes darted to the Asian agent with disbelief; he didn’t have time to bring these guys up to speed on the world of digital adventuring. He turned his frown back to Logan.
“It’s like a treasure hunt. You go in, do battle and to the victor goes the spoils,” Calum answered.
“You’re familiar with how it all works?” Andy shifted his glare from Logan to meet Calum’s eyes.
“Yeah, I’ve adventured a bit, not often now as I have to work so much in-world. For me, a nice break is to go back to the real world. But back in the day I lived and breathed it, along with Logan. That’s how we know each other.”
“So, you guys didn’t just answer some 911 call?”
“No, Mr. Crawley. Logan called me for advice. An old friend trying to help out a newer one.” Calum smiled then added. “Which is the right thing to do in this case, even if it means giving up the gold.”
“You think this is about the gold? I don’t give a fuck about that!” Andy pounded the table with both fists.
Calum put his hands up. “Easy there. Is it ok if I call you Andy?”
“Yeah, that’s fine.”
“Great just call me Pete, and this is Robert.” The other agent nodded with a slight smile.
“Back to the gold. I didn’t mean that you were trying to get it, I was referring to Digital Adventures pulling it. You are correct I’m sure they will if they find out. However, for the safety of Mia, we will elicit their cooperation only after the fact.”
“After the fact?”
“Yes, we don’t see any need to involve Digital Adventures in any of this right now; that would only take time and create complications. As it is, the gold or trophy as it were remains up for grabs. You came by the knowledge of it and its location innocently. The extortionists are victimizing you by threatening harm to yourself or Mia if you don’t give them something of value, something that you don’t have but do have knowledge of where to find it. Since the late Mr. Harvey is no longer a factor, at least going forward, Digital Adventures needs to let it play out in-world. We will deal with what happens in the real world, where Mia is. She is and should be our priority even if the trophy should fall into the wrong hands.” Calum rapped his pen on the legal pad in front of him. His eyes drifted to the blank tablet, his mind lost in thought conjuring up a plan of action.
Andy turned his palms up from the table. “So, you are going to let me help this Graybeard and the other one, Haus, go and get it then?”
“Not just you. Logan, myself and Agent Wu, er, Robert, will be along with you, not in the sim per se but as interested observers.” Calum met Andy’s eyes with his own.
“How are you going to do that without either alerting Digital Adventures or Haus and Graybeard?”
Calum turned from his seat and nodded toward the large area outside the glass windows of the conference room where a few techs were working at the late hour in the Metaverse among the myriad of stations and monitors that looked like a NASA control room. The far wall beyond the theater type of seating with its descending workstations was a huge screen divided into six or eight smaller ones, each still quite imposing. They either had a 24-hour Metaverse news station or a real world one on along with other data and information or a view of something in-world.
“We have abilities that Digital Adventures and most other vendors are not aware of, and cannot imagine. Both you and Logan will need to sign non-disclosures for anything that you might see, hear or experience.” Andy knew
what Calum was getting at.
This whole operation, at least where the Metaverse Crimes Team was involved was going to be off the record. That was fine with Andy. Writing in his blog and other publications that he freelanced for was the farthest thing from his mind now.
The four stayed up working out a tentative plan until well after Midnight, Metaverse time, which was a couple of hours earlier than the west coast. The Dead Zone was UMT, Universal Metaverse Time as it was a total in-world experience. Adventurers did not just go in and “play” for a few hours. They lived it 24/7 for at least a day at a time, others 24/7. The Metaverse unlike the real world, had only one time-zone, but through the magic of technology could simultaneously match the time zone of a real-world location.
In a few hours, the sun would be coming up in-world and in the Dead Zone. That’s when they had to be ready to meet the extortionists and kidnappers. The one who had Andy’s attention and anger was the one known as Haus. He claimed to have Mia, who was now confirmed missing from her home. The CSI teams were combing it, looking for clues and evidence.
Andy didn’t know how Keith had involved Graybeard and Haus, but it was clear that both, from different Outfits, knew about the gold and the common denominator was Keith. To say that the different Outfits were in competition with one another would be an understatement. They were not even civil with each other. It seemed incomprehensible to Andy that one would work with the other, certainly not in-world. Then again something like that massive gold haul could make for strange bedfellows.
Most likely Keith’s demise and failure to fulfill whatever agreement he had with them now looked like he was trying to double cross one or the other. Maybe both, since the Voracious Soldiers would’ve made the claim if they had managed to extract it. It was confusing to Andy and Logan about why Keith would even work with either Graybeard or Haus.
METAVERSE GAMES: OMNIBUS Page 21
