Codename: Freedom: Survive Week One

by Apollos Thorne

  “Focus, Lucius,” Destiny reminded.

  As cruel as it might seem, I wouldn’t finish this guy off quickly. That would waste an opportunity. Nor would I make the fight look even. He was likely a semipro himself, so defeating him was just another opportunity for him to learn. I had been there before.

  Casting an ice bolt at his feet, I slashed down from overhead. He was too slow to dodge them both. Choosing to take the bolt to the leg, I caught him on the same foot as before. This time he kept himself from falling to his knees. I took the opportunity to leave him a deep puncture wound to the shoulder.

  Spell-swords were popular with new players but rarely played well. Unlike most professions that had very obvious strengths, we had a larger variety of options due to the ability to cast spells and fight with weapons. Most serious gamers dismissed us entirely. The spell-sword’s spells and sword skills were at the best average, except for one spell that you could max. When used in unison with the right build and strategy, the spell-sword was unbeatable.

  He attacked next, realizing there was little chance to win. I shifted slightly, letting his thrust pierce my shoulder. The stinging sensation was nothing to laugh about because Gravel allowed the legal maximum of 40% pain. I literally felt 40% of the calculated pain for a maximum of five seconds.

  Another thrust came, this one wilder than the first.

  It was all a part of the show.

  Parrying his thrust, I sidestepped as he passed, smacking him on the rear with the blunt of my sword.

  When he turned, I was already casting a bolt, which hit him in the chest.

  Still unwilling to give up, he threw his bow at my head and slashed at my knee. It would have worked too, but he collided with a quickly cast force field as he lunged forward.

  You fought well.

  My sword pierced him high in the chest, easily exiting his back.

  He met my eyes as his health drained from his body. Knowing what it was to lose countless defeats, I bowed my head to acknowledge him as he disintegrated into pixels.

  Chewme mocked me for honoring the enemy, but I saw no reason to rub a person’s defeat in their face.

  “There he goes again.” St3alth joined me after my opponent had fallen.

  Hearing the clang of steel, I knew what he was referring to before I even looked.

  Despite what you might have seen in virtual movies or games, swords aren’t very useful against full platemail. This VR game, Gravel, had a real world physics engine, so despite magic and special skills, everything else was dependent on natural laws. Few people had the real life strength to pierce steel even with the sharpest blade. Chewme was an exception. Since our game characters were based on our real life bodies, Chewme was as massive here as he was in the real world. The game had no choice but to throw this into its physics calculations.

  The man he faced barely held onto his two-handed ax. It drooped to his side, held by his only good arm. What had once been well-polished armor was now dented in from every angle. One arm showed divotted steel just below the shoulder. Blood flowed from the cracks at his elbow. If that was the only damage, then the guy would have been able to continue. His platemail at the thigh and knee was also crushed. Blood seeped out at the knee and boot.

  Chewme spun. His claymore gained maximum velocity. The man braced with his good leg, taking the blow on his good arm. The ax fell from his grip. His armor was damaged near the wrist. Already blood was pooling into a drop at the tip of his hanging gauntlet.

  Allowing the man to forfeit at that point would have been the sane thing to do. The open-mouthed smile on Chewme’s face showed he was too far gone to stop now.

  “Stop, Chewme!” Destiny messaged. Group chat wasn’t the same as yelling where someone could actually hear you though.

  Even with a weaponless opponent, Chewme spun again, this time elevating his sword and bringing it down from over his shoulder. The vicious blow crippled the man’s remaining good leg. He fell hard to his side, landing with his arm unnaturally underneath him.

  It had gone on long enough.

  “Chew!” I yelled.

  He tilted his head to the side like a questioning canine. Placing his foot on the man’s shoulder, he leaned on him as he might a footstool.

  “Oh. You guys are already finished?” he asked, smirking with mock innocence.

  “End it.”

  “Fine, fine.”

  Before he could act, confetti fell from the sky like a colorful snowfall.

  “Winner Guild Nexus!” declared the announcer.

  Chewme’s footstool dissolved; the player had either died from his wounds or forfeited. It also meant that the bloodlust-loving bear of a man stumbled forward and almost fell over.

  An annoyingly loud cackle came from St3alth.

  Humorous or not, we both looked at him like he was mad.

  Now that the fight was over we had the option to fight again, leave for the spectator's lounge or return to our guild base.

  The first thing I did was check our viewer stats. Another three hundred people were watching us live. More importantly, twelve more people had followed my channel. It was a nice bump for a few minutes’ work.

  “How much time you have left, Lucius?” Chewme asked.

  With a thought, the real world time appeared at the top right of my vision. About 8:15 am.

  “I still have half an hour before I arrive.”

  “A few more matches then?” St3alth asked.

  “Absolutely. As many as possible. I’ll be going through testing for the rest of the day.”

  “Nothing to worry about. The hardest part is not getting bored.”

  “Be sure to let us know how it goes,” Chewme said. “My testing is next Saturday.”

  “I thought they have banned all galactic space walruses from trying out,” St3alth replied.

  “They did until they saw you. What did they say? Anything would be better than giving a ninja cockroach one of the 100,000 spots!”

  Rolling his eyes, St3alth turned back to me. “You think you’re ready for the interview?”

  “More than ready,” I replied. “Destiny and I have practiced interview questions for more hours than I care to remember.”

  “Can I go on a date with her?” St3alth asked, again.

  “No for the thousandth time! She’s an AI… And way too classy for you.”

  “What Lucius said,” Destiny replied.

  “Fine. Then let’s continue. Let’s head to the lounge and try 3 vs 5. If there are any girl players, I call first go!”

  “To kill them, or flirt with them?” Chewme asked.

  “To fight them first. Then after they are impressed…”

  “I don’t think girls find guys that kill them attractive,” I said.

  “I’m looking for a special kind of girl. Don’t step all over my dreams.”

  “Some dreams can get you prison time,” Destiny teased.

  I teleported to the lounge, ending the conversation.

  Chapter 2 – Letter

  I received the letter. It was a real physical letter, one of only a few I had received in my entire life. The drone had dropped it off just like any other delivery, but there was nothing ordinary about it.

  Physical letters became almost obsolete in the last couple hundred years because there was no longer any need for them. But some occasions called for something a little special. Or it could be because it was from the government and they still had some archaic practices.

  Why bother with a letter normally when you had direct access to all of your family and friends regardless of where they were in the world through the Metaverse? Just port over to them anywhere and hang out with them virtually. All it took was to will it and your AI and MR Tech would take care of the rest.

  I rubbed the envelope gently between my fingers as I walked the last couple hundred meters through this long, above-ground tunnel to the transportation hub. Its texture fascinated me for some reason.

  If the people around me kne
w what I was about to do, the majority of them would think I had overdosed on game violence and the unfiltered Metaverse.

  Looking up, dozens of small drones shot past overhead in their own network of traffic. Above them was a dome stretching down the wide tunnel. It was entirely covered in holograms. The hub limited advertisements by law to preset locations that wouldn’t dangerously distract pedestrians as they traveled. There were holographic pillars every twenty meters or so to the sides of the walkway that allowed a single holographic commercial at a time. Like the incredibly attractive, bigger than life woman that was levitating on a mag-hover mattress while snoozing in her car.

  Arrows along the ground directed me and those around me in designated traffic lanes. How people were augmenting themselves was always interesting.

  A girl to my right was going the same direction and walked a few meters ahead. She wore a tight-fitting padded jacket that showed off her figure, with a leather studded skirt and a long, blond, fluffy tail. It was more cat than dog.

  Coming from the other direction to the right was a space rogue, with a below the knee duster and a cybernetic eye. His image shimmered periodically to mimic stealth armor that had yet to be activated.

  An Undead Deathlord, with abnormally pale skin and emerald silver platemail, was in front of me moving down the tunnel to the central hub.

  A hooded figure with two triggerless six-shooters holstered at the hip passed in the other direction. He was a ballistic mage that used magic instead of gunpowder or magnets to propel the bullets from his guns.

  There were creatures you could see in the holographic forest that the local high school students created in art class. Bears, deer, dragons, minotaurs… You know, the kind that you find in every forest.

  “Are you worried?” Destiny asked. She had appeared in a small messaging window near the top left-hand corner of my peripheral, her large green eyes wincing.

  No one else was able to hear her, for she was tied directly into my MR gear. She had mid-back length blond hair and captivating features.

  I had chosen a female AI on purpose. One of her jobs was to help me stay disciplined by being the voice in my head to help guide me, as annoying as that could be. Her gender and look were chosen because it was harder to say no to a beautiful girl. It might sound ridiculous, but it worked.

  “You know what I’m about to do. It won’t be easy.”

  “That may be true, but it will be worth it.”

  “You’re right.” I sighed.

  “Of course I’m right. If you don’t take my advice you are an idiot.”

  Her direct response caught me off guard. Glancing up, I saw she was staring at me intently. She couldn’t keep the grin from her face for long.

  I chuckled. She had been my AI for a decade, over half of my life, and had mastered how to manipulate my sense of humor.

  Normally Destiny would appear to me as a hologram, but it was a normal courtesy to keep your bots from manifesting in a busy public place like this. Having her appear where only I could see her was a very real option, but with so many people it would be difficult to keep track of her. She was more accessible now in my quick chat.

  “Father even came home early from work when he got the news. I can count on one finger how many times that has happened. Not that it changed his mind about gaming.”

  “Your dad is a great man. He works hard, provides for his family, and has much success. He may have his own ideas about what he wants his son to become, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t want to spend time with you.”

  “Yeah, yeah. I’m not going to miss you reminding me.”

  “How can you say that? I thought you loved my rebukes!” She stuck out her tongue.

  Destiny was the only person that called my father dad. He had created her specifically for me. Few of the AI on the market could compete with her capabilities. Having a genius father had its perks, but as long as I could remember he spent most of his time working. Destiny was good company and designed to teach me to become the best in whatever I so desired. Still, she wasn’t my father.

  More than that, because I had such an amazing AI, I was expected to make something of myself. When I had decided to become an ultra-user and pursue professional gaming, he hadn’t hidden his disappointment. He wanted me to become a creator like him, to develop AIs or for the Metaverse. It was true that at first, I had started gaming mostly out of spite, but very quickly I fell in love with competing against others from all over the world.

  An alien from a game I couldn’t place passed by. Its eyes at the end of burnt orange antennas followed me.

  Creepy. Its mouth was as wide as a person’s body and had multiple limbs.

  Real alien avatars weren’t popular right now, because of intergalactic tensions. The exception was the Jinhwa. They were basically cyborgs that were always trying to make some coin from their advanced technology. I’d see at least one of their shops in a few moments.

  My own outfit mimicked black Kevlar body armor that was tight-fitting, showing off a well-defined athletic body. It was simple and the only extravagance was a large Guild Nexus logo at the center of my chest, with many graphics from my sponsors around it and on my back. This was the new modest. My real frame was thinner, but there was little extravagance besides thicker muscles.

  What I really wore under the augmentation was a dull silver long-sleeved shirt and darker athletic pants; comfy and a good contrast that didn’t interfere with the lighting for my outfit augmentation.

  I unapologetically wore a strap around my head with a small but obvious processing unit just above each ear that stretched out into my peripheral vision. The light projector was barely noticeable but streamed directly into both eyes giving me full access to both augmented and virtual sectors of the Metaverse.

  The clear rubbery lens that completely covered my vision reached from nose to temple and brow to cheekbone. They were clear and not considered rude because people could still see my eyes through them. The clear film making up the lens could be tinted so that it controlled the light that might interfere while viewing the Metaverse. These lenses bubbled out which gave anyone who was found out while wearing them the immediate nickname of bug eye. The superior performance was worth it though.

  Most people had contacts or cybernetic implants when they were out of the house to augment the world around them and give limited access to the virtual side of the Metaverse.

  I left the tunnel and entered the Hub. The noise of the crowd condensed and became louder. With the noise came a sense of excitement as people rushed to get to their shuttles and automated vehicles.

  Immediately I saw the Jinhwa shop, a nearly human looking gentleman with polished steel receivers instead of ears, and most of his other implants hidden graciously under a pillowy suit jacket. An officer stood to the side of the shop entrance. It wasn’t just implants the Jinhwa sold. On Earth, add-ons that didn’t have to be surgically implanted were the only ones socially acceptable. The exception was MR lens implants. It distinguished us from the Jinhwa cyborgs.

  Officers wore blue hydrocarbon body armor that was smooth and similar in design to my augmented outfit. Their tool belts were loaded with a number of different weapons for stunning and more lethal actions. The hub’s personnel wore dull green with a designated logo on their chest.

  A bench shone like obsidian and was highlighted in a yellow light. Destiny had found our destination. I headed toward it.

  I passed a group of local perverts huddled against the wall. At first glance, they dressed a lot like a biker gang met cyberpunk. Their blank expressions were the surest sign that they were using the unfiltered Metaverse. What I was seeing was the avatar visible in the filtered Metaverse. These filters protected children and really anyone not wanting to display their private life in public.

  Being 18, I did technically have legal access to remove all my filters, but I didn’t on purpose. Distractions could keep me from becoming a professional gamer or from just plain not looking stupid in
public.

  Without having to ask, Destiny noticed what I had been looking at and took care of it. She blurred the group so that I was blind to them.

  At that moment, an entourage of police escorted a blurred face giant. There was no need to ask if Destiny was responsible for blurring out the face. It was the Metaverse responding to the legal requirement to blur prisoners. It was more than just a digital covering, otherwise Destiny could have just seen it through the naked lens of one of the many cameras on my headgear. A black see-through layer of cloth was also over his head. The color made it more difficult for any camera-reliant MR to collect enough data.

  “He’s Ekseliksi,” Destiny said. “Decoding.”

  Standing at least eight foot tall, the man had no virtual augmentation and was wearing just an orange jumpsuit. The blur to his face started to dissipate.

  It wasn’t exactly illegal to decode the blurred prisoner’s face. Most AI just weren’t capable of it without increased processing power and a lot more time. For Destiny that wasn’t necessary though. She believed it was safer for us to see the prisoner’s facial expressions to anticipate what he might be thinking. She had figured out her own method over the years to decipher such things quickly.

  As his face became clear, the burnt pink of his skin and the bulging of his jaw and neck muscle became defined. Unlike the Jinhwa, which were a cyborg race, the Ekseliksi, or trans-humans, were a race drunk on bio-engineering. They hated the non-organic, which surprisingly caused more hostility between us and them than the Jinhwa who were their opposites. They believed we were like them, but little more than mutts. We didn’t enhance ourselves and desecrated ourselves with technology.

  The prisoner passed by causing only a small stir in the busy crowd. Now that the distraction had passed, it was time to begin my new training.