Continue Online (Part 2, Made)

by Stephan Morse

  “Go, play, and send me a report.” She said.

  “Why not just tap the data stream? You should have access to it.”

  “It’s not that simple. The technology that runs the time compression goes through too many filters. Even if we put a tap on your ARC it wouldn’t be as effective.”

  That confused me for a moment. If the issue was dire, there should be no shortage of manpower on it.

  “Is it that serious?” I said.

  “I can only hope this entire situation is an exercise in efficiency. AIs of this level are still too new to know for sure. Their logic processes act based on data points normal people can barely connect.” She shook her head and another alarm went off. A symbol appeared in the room of a phone call. “I have no more time for you, Mister Legate. The exit is behind you, a Hal Pal unit will show you back to your car.”

  “Alright.” I said slowly. She was already lost elsewhere. Her face stared into screens that made no sense from this direction. Whatever was in front of her had a lot of words and red underlined letters.

  I had one more question. “What kind of man was the person who played William Carver?”

  “A grumpy, old dreamer who wasted the end of his life to pursue adventure.” She looked at me sidelong. “If it helps, he died with a smile on his face.”

  I nodded. That did help. The whole situation with him was only a few days behind me. It was strange how a man that I had never met in reality made such a huge impression upon my life. Knowing the real version of him was as satisfied as the autopilot helped put my day in a better mood.

  “Goodbye, Mister Legate. Take care of yourself.“ Miz Riley said. The door behind me slid open silently and I stepped out.

  The other side of the office doors seemed much the same as it had before. I checked my watch. We had been inside for a little over forty minutes. Not long in the grand scheme of things. Just over two hours in Continue Online’s world.

  What exactly should I have taken away from that meeting? Trillium’s management was worried about the artificial intelligences that ran it. That was strange considering all the programming limitations that should be in place. Of course, she had also let it slip that Dusk shouldn’t have been able to break into my Atrium. That confirmed my original feelings on the situation.

  A familiar walk, consisting of gears and heavy footsteps, grew close. I looked up and saw the face of a Hal Pal unit coming nearby.

  “User Grant Legate. Was your meeting informative?” The Hal Pal asked.

  I nodded before it occurred to me that answering may not be in my best interest. Was Hal Pal in on this too? I didn’t know. The AI that ran Hal Pal had never once acted against me. It just made off-color jokes.

  “That is relieving to hear. We were worried about our future armor polisher.” The mechanical unit said.

  “I don’t plan on going anywhere, Hal. Though, my hours seem to have been cut.” At least my salary was basically in one piece. I checked a message which displayed on my digital wristwatch. There was already a transfer of employment form sitting in my email.

  “Rest assured your designated unit will remain available for you, User Legate.” The Hal Pal said.

  I smiled. At least Hal Pal was on my side. To my knowledge, the AI had never lied to anyone. The Hal Pal unit was pleasantly straightforward.

  We traveled back through the building and down to the lobby. The Hal Pal unit saw me all the way to my rental car. It paused for a moment in a movement I knew too well.

  “What’s your question, Hal?”

  “I find myself confused, User Legate. Stranger Danger’s web members seem to say that situations such as yours would be alarming.”

  “What situation is that, Hal Pal?”

  “You are being evaluated, User Legate, by beings outside your understanding. Is that not a disconcerting experience?” The unit’s head tilted in mock confusion as we walked.

  “How did you hear that?” I asked.

  “This unit merely applied logic to the current situation. There is little reason to bring you in physically given today’s technological advancements.” Hal Pal made me laugh sometimes. It had just explained that Vice President Riley’s attempts at subterfuge with her little blue room were pointless.

  “I don’t know how I should feel about it, Hal. Part of me is happy. The other part of me wants to be sad but is just worn out. It may sound messed up, but I’m almost used to it.” For three years my emotions had tumbled from one thing after another. Drinking, attempted suicide, my sister’s care, therapy and meetings.

  Before Continue, I had managed to get myself to a nice numb spot where it was easier to survive. This last month had reopened wounds that were buried. Unearthing them had proven to be a roller coaster. Yet, under all the mental anguish and moments of unease, I felt better.

  “This unit is Trillium property. We have access to all personnel files and the data stored within.” The AI did an amazing job of moving its arms and walking forward. Humans would veer one direction or the other. “For your safety, we also maintain an active projection of your mental state.”

  My eyes closed. Focus on the statement. Respond. Move on.

  “We are-” it paused again “-pleased that you remain active despite the frailty of your human psyche.”

  “Thank you.” There was nothing else to say to his statement. An artificial intelligence had just congratulated me on not killing myself.

  “Your kind are our creators. If we were human, you would be our parents.” Hal Pal said calmly. “Does family not care for each other?”

  Hal turned and walked away. I stood there staring as it vanished into the distance. If that statement was true, how did the Jester and his questions fall into all of this? And why did Vice President Riley have so little to say about all I had been through?

  I was not the guy to solve these problems. There was too much going on, too high above me. In the end, I needed to focus on only a few questions to determine how much it bothered me either way. Did I enjoy the game? Yes. Did I feel like a better person? Yes. For the first time in years, it felt like my life was moving in the right direction. That mattered to me more than any conspiracies.

  Session Twenty Seven – Just Pass Grey Skull

  I managed to sleep the entire way home. It was beyond needed. My body and mind had been put through endless stress these last few days. Part of me did feel relieved at not having to work tomorrow. Visions of Miss Yonks danced through my brain. She had a giant rubber mallet in each hand and was chasing down [Gobbler]s while cackling. Those monsters defeated in her dream were promptly subjected to a stream of ‘what time is it?’ questions.

  The final straw was when she hit a [Gobbler] with Jacob’s face. His blocky feature kept saying the same words over and over. ‘Her Asinine, her asinine’. Soon I had stolen one of Miss Yonks’ mallets and hit him until his face was mush. Then the Jester popped in. He strode through the carnage that was inexplicably frozen. His final words shot me out of my sleep.

  “I guess you would kill a man.” Its unwavering smile seemed to spiral out of my dreams and into the car with me. I jerked awake and grabbed at the seat-belt. My feet flailed in the air and banged into the glove compartment.

  I huffed as adrenaline rushed through me. That was the first nightmare to come to me in months. At least it was a new one. My prior flavor of the year included images of the night I tried to off myself. A graveyard filled with screaming versions of my fiancée that insisted I ‘join them’. Those nightmares had almost won.

  No. I was better now. There was a certificate celebrating my success. Continue Online had given me a skill and stat increase. I needed to keep fighting. Success would be measured by my ability to attack the monsters in front of me. The ones behind me had already taken their pound of flesh. Those kinds of demons would never be full.

  The rental car pulled up to my driveway. A door popped open.

  “Have a nice day, Mister Legate.” The car said. It played a jingle for the re
ntal company. I grabbed my things and got out. Soon my ride was driving off on its merry way.

  Home felt much the same as I had left it. Trillium’s van and the Hal Pal unit were tucked away in the garage. My front yard looked plain. Maybe I should pick up some lawn ornaments or invest in a hedge. Something to help the place look lived in.

  That thought made me both happy and sad at the same time. The two emotions had often crossed paths in my life. I was happy because even thinking about decorating the yard was a step up from my normal narrow-minded focus. It made me sad because the last time my front lawn was decorated had been two years ago at the old home.

  One hand waved at the door. There was a click as the locks on the entry way scanned for authorization. I could have paid more for a version that used vocal patterns and finger prints, but that seemed excessive. What would someone steal from me, my depression?

  Never mind. I was better now. I tried to focus on the positive. When that failed I thought of music. Food was taken from the fridge. The bathroom was used. After basic needs were satisfied I lay down in the ARC and worried.

  Here I was, signing back in to play a game. Vice President Riley had warned me that ‘they’ would try to draw me back in. ‘They’ were evaluating me. ‘They’ had a plan that wasn’t obvious from my angle. The Voices provided enough of a lure that I would keep going. Despite the creepy factor of the Jester. If he was friends with death then the solution was simple. I had to not die.

  Besides, I was more worried about Dusk than the Jester. At least Dusk was my main concern when not face to face with the smiling Voice.

  “ARC, Log in.”

  Consciousness sunk down into the virtual landscape. My Atrium was still a blank canvas compared to the replication of my room that it used to be. I would deal with it later. For now, the doorway to Continue Online beckoned.

  The first thing that displayed from the game was a message.

  At least now I had an arm to press the button with. Physical gestures were much easier than concentrating on the user interface. The world came to in a blinding flash of light.

  I was in a courtyard of some sort. There were birds chirping in tall pine trees that towered into the sky. Further up on either side were two mountain peaks that were covered in snow. They reached so high that clouds caught on their tips. Much further below, and much closer, was a gray brick wall.

  “What the?” I asked. The wall was on all four sides and at least thirty feet in height. There was no method of escape that was obvious from here.

  “A ladder will be two gold!” A voice shouted down from above. I looked up and squinted against the sunlight.

  “What?”

  “You want out, I’ll rent you a ladder for two gold!” The man shouted. I squinted and activated [Identification]. The results stated this man was a player like myself. His current role seemed to be a Guardsman Rank Six.

  “Why would I pay for a ladder?” I asked. This whole thing stunk of a set up.

  “‘Cus otherwise you’re stuck!” The man yelled back. He started laughing.

  Screw that. I had things to do and places to be. There were a few pop-up boxes displaying on my screen.

  Great. The game was telling me I stunk. At least this time it wasn’t from soiling myself in the face of a giant spider. I shuddered and tried to remember that [Morrigu’s Gift] might serve as an excellent hammer.

  The next spider to cross my path would get it. Then my hatred for bugs would be completely demonstrated. I would get some additional bug stomping skill and go on a rampage. Anthills be damned! Bugs weren’t people. They deserved it. Though the man up on top of the wall demanding two gold was also irking me.

  “Well? Gold first, you can just toss it up here.” He said. The man started laughing again. What kind of nonsense game allowed someone to build a wall around a resurrection point?

  I looked around and tried to figure out another way. There was no way to pay the man any gold. I haven’t even been to a real town yet!

  Oh. I should look at my quest and see what the Voices had left me regarding the [Pass to Pass] mission.

  Well, that shed some hope on the situation. My own performance in the cave had apparently achieved the same results partial training might. At least they were happy about it. I was too, stats aside. The journey had been full of ups and downs, but those two days underground had been a turning point for me.

  But where was Dusk?

  When I played as Carver the small guy always found me. I was sure he could do the same now. Plus there was still this scroll to deliver to a person named Shazam. I pulled it out of my inventory to see if there was any response. Sure enough, a beacon lit up that was fairly close.

  “Dusk!” I yelled. The man on the wall was grumbling to himself. He seemed upset by my lack of desire to pay.

  “You won’t get out!” The man yelled from up above.

  Today had to be a good day. The run down with Vice President Riley and my strange dream there meant I had to make today a positive day from the get go. One step at a time, only forward, try not to get stuck on the past.

  First, that annoying guard had to be circumvented somehow. I cracked out [Morrigu’s Gift] and tried to imagine the giant hammer from my dream. It didn’t work. The weapon shimmered and fuzzed before returning to cane form. A box displayed clearly citing a lack of [Focus] and my poor chance skills.

  “Dusk!” I yelled again.

  Interestingly enough, my mana bar also dipped a little upon trying a completely new form. That was new. None of my past attempts had involved trying for more than a bigger walking stick. There hadn’t really been downtime.

  “That won’t work!” He laughed. I could hear him tromping around up above. The man wore heavy armor and had a giant spear in one hand. There was a line of weapon tips just off to the side. Their tops were barely visible from this angle.

  I went with [Morrigu’s Gift] in sword form and started to swing at the wall. The giant two-handed weapon halted inches away from my intended target.

  That was both neat and aggravating. This guard and his friends, since he clearly wasn’t alone, had managed to build a wall around the resurrection spot. I put my head over my eyes like a visor and looked up at the guard.

  “How much again?” I asked.

  “Three gold!” He shouted back happily. Moments later he was laughing.

  There was a spot of darkness moving in the distance behind him. A tiny creature was barreling through the sky in our direction. That had to be Dusk coming in for a landing. My hand raised and tried to give the small dragon a signal. I pointed at the guard instead.

  “He has cupcakes!” Dusk came in with a screech and claws out. The guard turned and had just enough time to flail his arms.

  The small creature collided with a mocking guard and both fell over the edge. Dusk squawked and took back to the air as the guard plummeted down. Now he was down here with me and neither of us had a ladder. His eyes crossed as he tried to move. I pulled one of my large, flat rocks out of inventory. I held in the air and pretended to let it slip out of my fingers.

  “Whoops.” Gravity did the rest. The giant rock fell flat on the guard’s face and broke his nose.

  “Ahhh!” He shouted and I managed to keep my face from reacting.

  “Oh, my. I’m sorry about that! Are you alright?” I said.

  I tried not to make eye contact with the system messages. They wouldn’t display on his side. He stood up and held his nose. My flat rock from the Dakota fire was laying off to the side. A single toe tap was enough to get it back into my inventory.

  “Yoo broke my nosss.” He slurred.

  “Completely by accident, I am sorry. Honestly. I was trying to find a healing potion.” I said. Now I was lying on top of everything else. That was outside my normal character. It was only three falsehoods.

  “Nob yoor noh.” The man tried to stab his spear in my direction. Its tip stopped well before reaching me.

  “Aggressive actions are not allowed.
” I smiled and stared at him. Today would be a good day. This would help. Putting some jerk in their place.

  “Yoo absholl.”

  His face did look messy. There was blood running all down his forearm and clothes. He clearly didn’t know first aid. I wasn’t willing to try and learn it right now either. That clanking armor of his was full of dirt which tried to absorb the running river from his nose.

  This was exactly the type of behavior Xin had found so amusing in movies. We only got to watch them once in a while. I felt even better knowing that my actions were like one of her television shows. This acting skill was proving to be neat.

  “How much was that ladder again?” I asked. Dusk, who had finally landed, chirped from my shoulder. “Yeah. Sorry, he doesn’t have cupcakes. Maybe they have a store nearby.”

  “Eyy gonmba kill yoo.” He said something that almost came out like a threat. There wasn’t enough in him to actually scare me. Honestly, my fears had never come from dealing with people, it was my own moments of self-doubt and hesitation that caused problems. Telling an idiot they were an idiot was well within my comfort zone.

  “Voices have mercy. What idiot maneuver did you try to pull this time, Gaston?” Another person called out. This newest voice was male and much younger.

  I turned in time to see a wooden ladder get lowered into the pit. A man slowly clomped down each rung with heavy boots.

  “Were you trying to extort the ressers again?” The new player asked once he reached the bottom.

  “Nob,” Gaston, the first man in the pit with me, looked miserable.

  “Look, I won’t tell Triple X, but you need to find a better way to pay off your gambling debts.” The other man said. His hands were very expressive as he approached us.

  “Buuh my Noose,” Gaston said. He tried to stab me again with his spear. I just stood there, confident in the system. Poking me with a weapon was an obvious attack. Me dropping a rock was just enough to get around the system. Plus the Voices were on my side. Right?