by Dean Henegar
“You know she will, as long as I don’t eat all of it first,” Trey threatened jokingly, anxious to hear the problem.
“Wow, ok, so, where do I start. I was working on footage for your dad’s WeView feed and didn’t have my normal game equipment on hand that I like to use for editing. I know you don’t get time to watch your dad much, but there was a really cool duel between him and his friend, Yendys. Well anyway, I was working on it at the office after I had clocked out for the day. I needed to finish the vid before 9pm because I had promised your dad’s fans that I would. I didn’t have my home rig, so I just jumped on the admin gear I have in my office. Everything was fine until I decided to dig deeper, trying to find out some behind the scenes numbers the game was crunching about the duel…ok, I get it, I’m a geek and I like numbers. Anyway, I took off the game filters and you will not believe what I heard. Here, let me push both vids to you. I’ll stay on the line until you finish.” With that, I pulled up the feed Lou was sending on my home pc. I still liked an old-fashioned pc with a real keyboard and a large monitor.
Trey looked at the actual in-game footage first. Lou had clipped the scenes he wanted to show. The scenes were from different conversations and jumped around a bit. A note on the vid said to focus on the dialogue, not the actual video.
“A close fight, Yendys! Well fought to you and Crunchy. You almost had me with that mandible attack.”
“It’s ok, old man Raytak, you don’t have to call me the unicorn queen. You beat us fair and square. Just promise you won’t trick me with any more unicorn stories!”
“You’re right, old man Raytak. I’m soooo sorry, Crunch Crunch.”
Ok, no big deal, just dad dueling with that kid that likes to tag along on his adventures. The kid and her two friends are like his little mascots. The second vid started with the following note.
Clip run without AI filters, AI was real-time editing certain dialogue in-game.
“A close fight, Yendys! Well fought to you and Crunchy. You almost had me with that mandible attack.”
“It’s ok, Grandpa, you don’t have to call me the unicorn queen. You beat us fair and square. Just promise you won’t trick me with any more unicorn stories!”
“You’re right, Grandpa. I’m soooo sorry, Crunch Crunch.
Trey sat there stunned, as his mind tried to process what he had just heard. Slowly the realization hit him that the player, Yendys, he was watching was his own daughter, Lauren and she somehow knew that Raytak was her grandfather!
“Trey, you there? Don’t freak out on me, buddy. I dug deep and found out what the AI Clio was doing. When Lauren first started the game, Clio realized she was Raytak’s granddaughter. The AI queried Lauren to see if she wanted to spend some time in-game playing with her grandfather to help with his treatment. The thought was that playing with an actual family member would be a great way to re-socialize your father. Lauren of course said yes and joined him on the caravan from the starting zone. Clio edited anything Lauren said in-game so as to not tip off your dad as to who she was until the time was right. When your dad had his mishap and lost some memories, Clio made a decision…and the right decision I have to say…to protect your father from more harm by continuing to hide who Lauren was,” Lou stopped and caught his breath, allowing Trey to absorb what he was saying.
“The AI nearly kicked Lauren from the game, worried about the same thing she is worried about if you join him in-game. We all have little mannerisms, ways of saying things, and reactions that are unique to us. Your dad would have had memory triggers all over the place if you were standing next to him in-game. The way you spoke and interacted with people would trigger even your dad’s damaged brain fairly quickly, causing catastrophic damage. The difference with Lauren is that your dad has never met her. He was in the hospital and out of it when she was born. Clio feels that your father’s interaction with Lauren’s character, Yendys, was beneficial to them both and convinced Lauren to hide the fact she was in-game with your dad from you. To her credit, Lauren has been great at keeping the secret, she knows any interaction between you and your father before his brain has repaired completely is a risk. Clio was also doing the right thing, trying to come up with a way to tell you, while at the same time calculating the emotional impact the news would have on you. You kind of freaked out Clio in your last interaction with her. She wanted to present the news to you in the least traumatic way possible. Sorry I have to tell you this man, but at least one of the family is in-game with him, even if can’t be you yet.” Lou finished and held on the line waiting for Trey’s reaction.
Trey sat for several minutes in his chair trying to process everything he had just heard. He was angry at first. Angry at the AI for bringing his daughter into this mess, angry at the world for taking his dad away, angry at himself for not being happy for the experiences Lauren was having with a grandfather she had never known until now. Trey remembered something Clio had said when he first confronted her over porting dad into the game. “He is not alone in there,” Clio had stated. Trey had thought the statement meant his dad was with other players in-game. The AI was actually referring to a family member, Lauren, being with his dad. Trey realized he would be able to interact with his dad soon; his father’s mind was repairing at a steady, if not swift, pace. The best option would be to show his daughter love. She needed him to be her father and understand her desire to know her grandpa. His dad would have just loved the fact that he was playing with his granddaughter; someday soon his father would find out. Tears burned in Trey’s eyes as he decided his next course of action.
“Thank you, Lou. I realize that you and Clio both did the right thing. I’m going to hang up now and tell Lauren that I know what’s been happening. Talk to you tomorrow at the office… and Lou, thanks for being a good friend,” Trey finished and ended the call.
With tears still in his eyes, Trey walked back into his dining room to find Lauren and Veronica joking it up with each other. They both looked up at him, Veronica getting up from her chair, realizing something was upsetting her husband, worried that one of his parents had passed away.
“Lauren…or should I say, Yendys, we have to talk,” Trey said. As soon as Lauren heard her father, she broke into tears. Lauren knocked her chair over then ran to her dad, hugging him and apologizing.
“I’m so sorry, daddy! I couldn’t tell you, or you might try to go see grandpa in-game and then he wouldn’t get better,” Lauren said between sobs.
“It’s ok, Lauren, I love you and know you weren’t doing anything wrong. Don’t worry, you’re not in trouble and I know I can’t see grandpa in-game just yet. Hopefully, soon, and we can all play together.
Trey then took a moment to let his wife know all that had been transpiring. Soon, all three of them were in tears, yet also hopeful.
“So, Lauren, tell me what it’s been like getting to know grandpa?” Trey finally asked.
Lauren brightened up before replying.
“Dad, it’s been sooo cool. Grandpa is kind of like I always imagined him to be, except not super old, only just regular old like you are. He was also kind of scary at first, the way he just turns…I don’t know…kind of cold in a fight. You can tell he was like some hero, soldier guy in real life. Steve and Jake from school both play with me and they think grandpa is awesome. I know you haven’t been watching grandpa’s vids, but there was this one time we were…” Lauren went on for some time. The family had a bittersweet night, with Trey reminiscing about his father and listening to his daughter getting to know the real person that his father was.
Afterword
I want to thank my readers for continuing their journey with Colonel Raytak and the other band of characters in the Limitless Lands. It has been an amazing experience for me, working on this book.
I want to thank Oscar Paludi (aka. Exoniensis) for his work on the maps of Hayden’s Knoll. Also, a thanks goes out to my beta readers; you helped make this work much better than it would have been without your input. Finally, I
would like to thank Renee Kelly for her excellent editing work.
As a new author, I have been encouraged and humbled by the positive response that book one has received. I hope that you have enjoyed this one as well. If you enjoyed the book, please feel free to leave positive feedback; it helps more than you can know.
By the time you read this, the talented Jack Voraces is recording the audio version of book two. I am also plugging away at book three where we will continue our journey. What is the horrible fate that Narbos has planned for Raytak? Will the forces of the 1st Legion of Hayden’s Knoll be able to conquer the zone before others invade? Will Crunchy get some ribbons to go with his fashionable bow? All will be answered in book three. Look for book three to release sometime in early 2019.
