Awaken Online: Catharsis

by Travis Bagwell

  Robert paused to let this information sink in. Then he continued, “We've been forced to cluster the servers by country due to the player demand. We may need to consider adding instanced areas within the game to handle the number of players. I am currently contemplating ways to implement zone instancing without detracting from the realism of the game.”

  “There has been recent demand for some way to leave an avatar in-game after the player logs off. I expect that many players didn't enjoy riding with the army to the Twilight Throne for days on end and there were some that couldn't participate due to work or other obligations. I'm brainstorming several solutions.”

  George knew most of this information already, but they hadn't yet arrived at the important part of this meeting. He had a personal interest in his next question. He addressed Claire, “And what about Jason?”

  “One of the people that is at least partially responsible for my son's recent meltdown,” George thought grimly.

  Claire frowned slightly before speaking, “Well, obviously, he was able to conquer a city within the first week of the game's release and managed to ward off the subsequent attack on the city. We have not identified any illicit access of the game hardware or exploitation of the game system.”

  Robert smiled. “In fact, he has drawn a lot of attention to the game. Some people are claiming we set up the fall of Lux and the resulting war as some kind of promotional event.” He chuckled, shaking his head. “That actually would have been a great idea! Wish I had thought of it.”

  George nodded in agreement before speaking in a dour tone, “I wish you had too. However, that begins to touch on the real topic of this meeting.”

  He looked at the two carefully. “We are planning to open a media division to stream game content. Recent events in the so-called Twilight Throne have made it clear to us that there is substantial, untapped marketing and advertising potential in streaming player videos.”

  Claire raised her eyebrows in surprise. “That is interesting news, but what does it have to do with us.”

  George smiled at her, but it didn't reach his eyes. “The two of you are going to facilitate the technical aspects of the new media division. To be clear, there will be a separate producer and post-production team.”

  “However, until we have confirmed the new hires, we want you to identify and begin contacting potential streamers. We can't afford to wait until our human resources department has completed the hiring process. Your knowledge of the game puts you in a unique position to identify players that we should offer an exclusive streaming contract.”

  George watched the two closely. “I would like Jason to be at the top of the list.”

  Robert's mouth twisted into a large smile at this news. Claire, on the other hand, frowned slightly before her face settled into a neutral expression.

  “Jason sounds like an obvious choice,” Claire said with unconvincing enthusiasm.

  George watched Claire carefully. He hadn't missed the small frown or her tone.

  * * *

  Jason was currently sitting at the kitchen counter of his aunt's house reading forum posts on his Core. Every so often, he would take a bite from the peanut butter and jelly sandwich sitting on the plate in front of him.

  Several real world days had passed since the battle at the Twilight Throne. The city had stabilized and was recovering well. The council had managed to find homes for the new residents of the city, and they had used the rest of the money that had been recovered from the guards to start rebuilding the city's infrastructure.

  There were many oddities associated with governing an undead city. For example, his residents didn't eat or breed. On the one hand, this meant that the council didn't need to devote any resources to growing food, but it also meant that the population of his city was static unless he found fresh corpses. This was a tactical problem since he really couldn't afford to lose any of the residents and he didn't have an easy way to add residents.

  He shook his head. He didn't currently have a way to address this issue, but he had faith that something would come to him eventually.

  His Core suddenly emitted a ringing sound that filled the small house. He glanced at the screen and saw that his mother was calling. He felt the bottom drop out of his stomach. Taking a deep, steadying breath, he thumbed the device on his wrist.

  I was really hoping to avoid this conversation for a while longer.

  “Hello?” he said, hesitantly.

  “Hi honey,” his mom's voice sounded on the other line. “I assume you don't have access to a pedestal or we would have video...”

  “Um, no. Angie doesn't have a pedestal. They’re quite expensive. We’re going to have to stick with audio only.”

  His mom paused for a long moment.

  “I-I just want to say that we're sorry, Jason.” She hesitated. “We shouldn’t have gotten so upset with you, and I think we flew off the handle. It was just a lot to process all at once,” she said, contrition in her voice.

  His dad spoke up, “I also shouldn't have yelled at you. You just don't know what we had to go through to get you into that school…,” he trailed off, his voice heavy with regret.

  “Honey, we aren’t going to rehash our last conversation,” Jason’s mother reprimanded his father. “We are calling to apologize, remember?”

  “I-I know,” his dad replied. “I am sorry Jason. We overreacted.”

  Jason was shocked. He had expected more angry ranting. Instead, he found himself floundering to respond to their apology.

  “I-It's okay,” Jason said, stuttering slightly. “I understand that it was kind of a stressful situation. I should have tried to talk it out better too. That wasn't a particularly great couple of days.”

  “Have you been okay at Angie's?” his mother questioned, concern in her voice. “She called us a few days ago to tell us you had showed up at her door. We decided to wait a bit before calling since it seemed like we could all use some time to cool off.”

  “Things are great here actually. I have my own room, and I'm covering my portion of the rent,” Jason answered cautiously.

  “She's charging you rent?” his father asked, shock in his voice.

  “Well, yeah. I don't know how long it’s been since you've seen her place, but this isn't a palace. She can't afford to give me a hand out,” Jason answered dryly. “Besides, I don’t mind. She’s been really great about letting me stay with her.”

  “I guess it has been a while since we've seen her...,” his mother responded.

  There was a long, awkward silence as neither Jason nor his parents knew how to continue.

  Finally, his father spoke, “Let's just cut to the chase. We're really calling you to ask you if you’re ready to come home. We want to start over and we should probably talk about how you’re going to finish high school.”

  Jason frowned. This really hadn't been what he had expected at all. In his mind's eye, he had visualized lots of angry yelling culminating in either him or his parents hanging up the phone. He didn't know what to say.

  Do I even want to go back? They're never home. At least if I stayed here, Angie would be around on a daily basis. I also like the idea of being independent and making my own decisions. If I go back, they will get to control my choices again.

  Yet the money is an issue. I only have enough for a few months of rent.

  “Um.” Jason hesitated.

  Why am I hesitating again? I know what I want. I'll deal with the consequences as they come.

  “I would actually like to stay here,” Jason finally said.

  “Really?” His mother asked in surprise.

  “Yes,” Jason answered firmly. “I was accepted at the Calvary School, and they have a great software engineering curriculum. I've already begun classes. I also made a few thousand dollars in the last few days playing AO. I have enough now to make rent for a couple months.”

  “Wow,” his father said softly. “I'm actually not certain what to say. That's a good choice as far as sc
hools go, and I'm impressed you earned that much in such a short time.”

  “Maybe this isn't a bad idea. We aren't really home much anyway and it isn't like you’re that far away,” his father continued.

  “Couldn't we at least send some money? Just something to help out,” his mother said, worry in her voice.

  It's just another thing they will use to try to control me. I want to do this on my own.

  “I would like to see what I can do on my own,” Jason said, his voice confident. “If I get into trouble, I will definitely call you. Probably begging for help,” he said with a chuckle.

  “That sounds reasonable,” his dad answered with a small chuckle of his own.

  His parents hesitated.

  “I just wanted to say that we're proud of you,” his father said finally.

  “I didn't realize things were that bad for you at Richmond until Riley called us. We were wrong to try to force you to go back. I admire you for having the guts to stand up to us. I'm also really impressed that you’ve pulled yourself together so quickly.”

  Wait, what? Riley called them?

  “Riley spoke with you?” he asked, his voice colored by both shock and curiosity.

  “Yes,” his mother replied. “She called yesterday and explained how the other students at the school have been treating you - especially some boy named Alex. We… we didn't know.”

  Jason wasn't certain how he felt about Riley. A part of him was still angry at her, but the questions just kept piling up. First there were her actions in game with Alex and now she had called his parents? He needed to message her after this. Maybe they could have that lunch he had promised.

  “It's okay, really. I'm doing better. Much better, in fact.” He paused before continuing, “I don’t mean to cut this short, but I actually have to go. There's some stuff I need to take care of. I'll call soon, okay?”

  “Okay,” his parents both replied.

  “We love you honey,” his mom said in a choked voice.

  “I love you too. Talk to you later.”

  Jason terminated the call, sitting in silence for a long moment. His mind was trying to process the conversation he just had. He hadn't expected his parents to call him and apologize. However, he was comfortable with his decision to stay where he was. He wanted to try to make it on his own. He was done with letting others control his life.

  His mind was also a jumble of confusion when it came to Riley. She had a lot of explaining to do.

  Jason thumbed his Core and pulled up the messaging system. He sent Riley a quick message asking her if she wanted to get coffee or something. It was midafternoon in the real world and he expected that she was likely out of class for the day. High school seniors had pretty lenient schedules. After a moment, he received a short reply saying she was free. She suggested a place and sent him an address. They agreed to meet in an hour.

  After pulling up the address on a map, Jason saw that the restaurant was halfway across town. If he was going to make it on time, then he needed to get moving. He finished off his sandwich in a few bites, then grabbed his keys and headed for the door.

  Roughly an hour later, Jason arrived at the address Riley had given him. He had to use a taxi and it had eaten into his meager savings. His curiosity was greater than his qualms about the loss of money though. He could always make more. Somehow.

  He looked around with a confused expression. He was in a remote, rundown part of the city. The sidewalk was cracked, and potholes littered the street. The building in front of him looked like it had seen better days. The paint on the side of the building was flaking away. One side was covered in bright graffiti. He didn't see a sign that indicated that this place was even a restaurant. His eyes scanned the street nervously.

  Am I in the right place? Maybe she is luring me here so Alex can jump me.

  “Hi Jason,” a hesitant voice said from behind him.

  He turned. Riley was wearing a plain blue t-shirt and a pair of jeans. Her blond hair was bound into a ponytail. She seemed less haggard than when Jason had last seen her. Her eyes still carried an inexplicable trace of sadness that he didn't remember. She looked like she had aged years in just a week.

  Jason wasn't certain how to feel as he looked at her. They had been little more than acquaintances at school, but she had always treated him well compared to the other students. He would never have expected her to rat him out to protect Alex.

  “I-I'm really glad you decided to meet with me,” she said, glancing down at her hands.

  He chuckled darkly. “Well, I had a couple of questions for you. That was before my parents called me. Once they told me you had reached out to them and explained what happened at Richmond, I realized I couldn’t wait any more.”

  Jason looked back over at the building. “So is this really a coffee shop?” he asked, trying to soften his tone. “I was scared for a second that I wasn't in the right place.”

  “Oh, this is definitely the right place,” she replied in a small voice, her eyes still on her hands. “They sell coffee here, but this is actually a bubble tea shop. One of the few in town. It's probably one of my favorite places in the city. Do you want to go in?” she asked hesitantly.

  “Sure,” Jason replied.

  They entered the small store. Jason was surprised by the interior. The inside of the shop was cozy and it had a small patio out back. They ordered some drinks at the counter before moving outside to find seats. Colored Christmas lights were strung between various trees. There were only a handful of people in the shop, making it relatively private.

  Riley picked out a table and sat down. Jason took a seat opposite her. She looked around the patio before turning back to Jason. “I love this place. My parents used to bring me here all the time when I was little. The passion fruit smoothie is my favorite.”

  Jason looked down at his drink skeptically. “What are these dark brown things?”

  Riley chuckled, some of the tension leaving her face. “They're called pearls. They're just tapioca balls. They warm them up before they put them in the drink.”

  Jason nodded at her explanation and an awkward silence descended on the table.

  Riley finally spoke up, “I don't really know where to start, but I want to explain what happened. I know we don't exactly know each other that well, but I've done some things lately... that I don't feel good about.”

  Jason watched her carefully. Her eyes had taken on a sad cast and she clutched at the drink in front of her, bending the plastic cup slightly. She wore the look he had seen on the battlefield. She seemed haunted by something. He decided to wait for her to continue.

  “I-I started dating Alex a few weeks ago. I shouldn't have. My friends even warned me not to, but he seemed so nice at the time...”

  She shook her head, staring at the table in front of her. “I was so stupid.” She paused, as though reliving the mistake she’d made. “Everything is just an act with him. He puts on this face for the world and everyone thinks he's amazing, but underneath he's just... broken.”

  No kidding. I've seen the mask crack myself. The guy has a screw loose.

  “I had only caught glimpses of his real self before the fight in the cafeteria.” Her eyes flashed with anger. “Actually, I shouldn't even really call it a fight.”

  She looked up at Jason and met his eyes. “I know you didn't attack him. I should have never told the administration that you did.”

  Anger flared in Jason's chest, but he shoved it down, wanting to hear the rest of her story. Days of tormenting the players and NPCs in game had taught him to be patient.

  “I told Alex I wanted to break up with him. I told him I was going straight to the administration,” she explained, her voice choking with emotion. Riley’s eyes took on a glassy cast. “That was when he threatened me.”

  He did what? Jason's mind tumbled in confusion.

  “He had a video of me acting stupid at some party we had gone to. I'd never drank before... or since.” It was so embarrassing. I do
n't know if you’re aware of this, but my dad makes his money publishing self-help books. If something like that got out...”

  Riley lapsed into silence, and she tried to blink back the emotion. She looked around, desperate for something to anchor onto. She was too afraid to meet Jason’s gaze, knowing that he would see the tears welling in the corners of her eyes.

  “Alex said he would go public with the video if I didn't go along with his story. I didn't know what to do. I didn't think you would be expelled. I couldn't hurt my family...” A tear began a slow crawl down her cheek.

  “I should have just told my parents right then and there. It's all my fault...” Tears now streamed down her cheeks, as she angrily tried to wipe them away.

  Jason's mind reeled from her explanation.

  Alex was blackmailing her? The pieces began to click together in his head.

  I really don't know what I would have done in that situation.

  Alex's smirking face flashed in Jason's mind, and fresh anger bloomed in his chest.

  What kind of asshole blackmails a teenage girl? Has she been blaming herself for my expulsion this whole time?

  “You didn't get me expelled,” Jason assured her. “That was all on me. I actually told Ms. Abrams and Mr. Edwards to go fuck themselves.” Jason's said with a grin as he recalled what had happened. Now that his life was beginning to turn around, the memory was actually a bit amusing.

  Riley's teary eyes looked back up at him in shock. “Really?”

  A confused combination of emotions swept over her face before her mouth twisted into a small smile, tears still lingering in her eyes. “I would have loved to see the look on Ms. Abrams’ face when you told her off. I hate that woman.”

  “It was one of those once in a lifetime moments, let me tell you,” Jason replied with a smile.

  Riley's expression darkened again. “I'm still so sorry. I actually filed a complaint against Alex at the school yesterday, and I've told my parents what happened. That's really what I should have done from the beginning.”