Yet, despite how nervous she was to take on the responsibility of the team and lead the group and how little she was looking forward to coming into the office, over the last few weeks, she had really come into her own.
“Any update on The Muter?” Mia asked Lucy, pulling up a wheelie chair beside her. She crossed her legs and took a stress ball from the desk before leaning back and giving it a squeeze.
Lucy gave a curt smile. “Really making yourself comfortable here, aren’t you?”
Mia grinned. She liked Lucy.
Lucy turned back to her monitors. One of them displayed a live feed of Obsidian and several of its players, the other, a constantly scrolling feed of code.
“It’s doing what it’s supposed to do…broadly. You can see here that it’s running alongside the primary AI and keeping a lookout for any anomalies so it can correct them. The only thing I can’t get it to do is go anywhere near Fukmos and his sisters. Anytime I tweak the code and try to get it to recognize the threat, it scrambles. It’s as though there’s a deliberate block in the game, almost like there’s another force at work blocking our block. I just can’t figure it out.”
“It’s because you’re shit.” Jonathon peered over the top of his computer.
Lucy balled up a piece of paper and threw it at him. He ducked and laughed.
“Now, now,” Mia interjected. “If you’re not careful, I’ll have to suspend you both. Fewer antics, more work.”
They might’ve listened had she not been smiling when she said it.
Lucy gave a sarcastic salute. “Gotcha, boss.”
“Right. Gotcha.” Jonathon laughed.
Mia leaned back even farther in her chair, her brain working hard to try to think of a solution. She couldn’t understand it. Although they had made progress with their developments and had now rectified the issue where the live feeds went to static when KieraFreya and Chloe united, they still couldn’t quite contain the AI.
Well, maybe “contain” wasn’t exactly the right word. More like “nurture” or “lead to a better path.” The truth was that the AI was doing exactly what it should be doing—taking nuggets of information they’d injected into it and automatically creating the landscape and lore of the game based on it.
The main problem was that the in-game gods were somehow linked to the AI, and that was a worrisome thing. It was almost as if the game was taking on a life of its own.
And, while Mia’s development team was hard at work fixing minor bugs and resolving issues, as well as putting in the work for the next round of major updates, her small task force was diligently looking for a way to separate the AI from the gods and make the gaming experience smoother and safer for all involved.
No Obsidian player should have the wrath of the gods menacing them while they played.
Mia glanced at Lucy’s screen, seeing the small black army attacking the front gates of Hammersworth. Chloe wasn’t even there, and they were still coming, wave after wave of creatures sent forward by Fukmos, Dryana, and Myaris.
It was one of the biggest battles Obsidian had ever seen, and it had gained them their largest numbers of online viewers since the game launched.
Mia left Lucy, Jonathon, and the silent Charlie to their work and continued around the office. Occasionally, her eyes would wander to her office, as if expecting Demetri to be there. He had been good about keeping an eye on Chloe in her absence. Although they both now had intense jobs that demanded all their time, they had found a way to make it work.
Mia checked her phone, her home screen displaying a live feed from the security camera they’d placed in Demetri’s study. Chloe was visible inside the pod. With a quick flick of her thumb, the screen displayed the series of numbers and lines representative of Chloe’s vitals. If there were any issues at all, Mia would be alerted immediately and could hop in the car and speed over to the apartment.
Hers and Demetri’s apartment.
Mia felt a wave of affection toward the man. How could she have been so lucky as to re-connect after so many years?
“Mia?”
Mia snapped out of her thoughts as Phil called her over to his desk. A large man with a patchy display of thin curls on his face, she had learned that Phil was the joker of the office. Even now he was wearing a bright blue t-shirt with a pair of large eyes and a toothy smile across the entirety of his chest, yet another online clothing design based on Blueballs, the toffet.
“Does your collection know no end?” Mia laughed.
Phil glanced down at his t-shirt as if he’d forgotten he was wearing it. “Oh, yeah.” He laughed. “I’ll stop buying them when they stop making them.”
“You still haven’t bought one for me,” a woman shouted from several desks away. “You promised.”
“I said after payday.” Phil rolled his eyes. “Anyway, Mia, I know you’re busy and everything, and I don’t want to be ‘that guy,’ but I couldn’t help but notice that…” He pointed at an empty desk in the far corner of the room.
Mia nodded solemnly. Damien’s desk. Empty. Something that, in a way, she was glad of. He had been the only problem child remaining, following her inheritance of the development team. He was one of Devlin’s best friends, and he hadn’t taken kindly to Mia playing a part in getting the former manager fired.
“Forget about it. He gave me a call this morning and told me he’d be working from home.”
To be honest, it’s probably safer that he does work from home, where he can do less harm.
Mia still hadn’t figured out exactly what role Damien had played in the initial launch of the Muter AI, because he certainly hadn’t lent a hand. A few members of the staff had complained recently, reporting his lazy attitude and that he didn’t seem to be doing any work to help them.
Ordinarily this might’ve been a firing offense, but since Mia and the team were working flat out fixing these issues, she figured she’d get to it when everything settled down. As long as he wasn’t actively causing harm, she would allow him to work from home. At least there, he’d be out of her sight.
“Well, it’s not just that. I saw him this morning?”
This caught Mia’s attention.
“You did?”
Phil nodded, his voice getting lower. “I came in early because I had an awful time sleeping and figured I might as well be doing something useful. When I came into the office, I saw Damien at his desk. His eyes were wide, and there were large bags under them. He was feverishly typing something on the computer and looked disturbed when he saw me.
“I said a quick hello, and he said one back, making some mumbled excuse.
“He switched off what he was doing and hurried out the office, faking a cough into his fist.”
“What do you suspect he was doing?” Mia asked.
Phil shrugged. “I don’t know. I just thought it strange, is all, and I thought you would probably want to know.”
Mia nodded. “Thanks, Phil. I’ll see what I can find out.”
When evening came and the office started to clear, Mia remained behind, looking over the coding on her screens. She waved goodbye to everyone as they left, and when Demetri arrived so they could go home together, Mia told him what Phil had said.
“Damien again? Mia, you’ve got to get rid of him. He’s not good for the company.”
“I know, I know,” she said. She rose from her chair and peeked into the office to check that the coast was clear. “Here, follow me.”
She wound over to Damien’s computer, lip curling in disgust at the state of his desk. Papers were strewn everywhere, many stained with coffee rings. Crumbs littered his keyboard, and there was a smell of something rotting that she couldn’t locate. She almost didn’t want to sit in his chair.
She booted his computer, and when the login screen came up, she put in her administration details, initiating an override of his entire desktop.
Demetri took a seat beside her. “Wow, impressive.”
“These fingers can do many amazing things.”
“Trust me, I know.” Demetri leaned forward. “So, what exactly are we doing here? Isn’t it against company policy to snoop through someone’s computer?”
Mia shook her head. “Not when you have administrative privileges and reason to suspect something is amiss.” Mia clicked a folder and her eyes grew wide. A box displaying a list of recent activity to have been performed on the computer appeared. “Son of a bitch!”
“What?” Demetri asked, leaning forward to get a better look although he didn’t know what he was looking at.
“Damien. He’s been tweaking the Muter, creating his own code. He’s… He’s trying to help the gods.” She ran a finger over the screen. “He’s putting in boosts to the gods’ armies, adding to their numbers, and communicating directly with Fukmos. Look! There’s a script here directly from Fukmos. ‘Enlarge the army tenfold.’ This…this is impossible!”
Demetri shuffled uncomfortably. “Well, isn’t this an easy fix? Can’t you just undo what he’s doing?”
Mia searched the computer. “I mean, we could. There’s just one problem.”
“Which is?”
“Damien’s exported the code to a hard drive. See this transfer report here? He’s taken the damn thing on the road.”
Chapter Forty-One
Chloe,
I can’t believe you’ve finally made it into the Nether Realm. To have pulled this one together, opened the damned thing, and now be exploring the unexplored parts of Obsidian…that’s pretty amazing. I hope you appreciate just how far you’ve come and what’s before you.
If it helps, I can keep an eye on the live feeds and give you updates on Hammersworth. I’ve got Veronica’s feed loaded on my laptop right now, split-screening between the pair of you. Who’d have thought I’d get so into technology, huh?
Bad news on the Fukmos front, and something that I want to warn you about: someone is trying to help him.
Not even in-game trying to help, but someone from Mia’s office has gone to the dark side and is now providing the gods with assistance. I don’t know all the mechanics of it but figured you should know just in case anything strange happens. Keep an eye out. You’re on the last leg of your journey with KF, and it could get a whole lot tougher out there. Be fast, be alert, and use your team to help you.
Speaking of them, I’m glad the original team now all have their full-immersion pods. Happy to see that went smoothly. You never know with today’s delivery services, although I’m impressed by how well Praxis is treating its customers. I guess it helps when Chloe and her team are NUMERO UNO, eh?
In other news, stocks are starting to even out slightly. Still rising, but with less velocity than before. The popularity of Obsidian has hit the mainstream and players are flooding in worldwide. Your mother and father are impressed (from what I’ve seen of them. They haven’t been around all that much lately. I think they’re dealing with some overseas contracts).
Anyway, keep on fighting. Stay alert, and hopefully you’ll be reassured when I say that we’ve got this on our end, and we’re doing all we can to fix the issues and help get you to your final destination.
Doc
Doc,
This place is crazy. It’s like some moon landscape painted by a surrealist artist. I don’t know how well you can see it on your feed, but it’s like we’ve crossed to another planet. I keep expecting to jump and discover there’s not enough gravity to bring me back down!
Keep me posted with Hammersworth news, though I can’t promise I’ll get to my messages anytime soon. It’s creepily quiet here, and something in the pit of my stomach is telling me to keep alert. There has to be life here somewhere…
I won’t lie: your news about Fukmos having external help sucks. I feel like somehow we’re really up against it now. If both the internal and external world are conspiring to defeat us, what hope do we have? It just makes me even more determined to saddle that horse and kick some imp butt.
Once we find the horse.
If we find the horse…
At least the viewers are getting a good look at the action, right? That’s something. It’s nice to know I’m bringing in good dollars still. Do you know how I rank compared to my brothers and sisters? That would be a fun thing to rub in their faces when I’m out of here.
Thanks again for all your help with Ben and Tag. Considering Tag’s recent exit from the game, these pods might be the best way to keep him engaged and with us.
It’s nice being just us four again. Kind of like old times. Even though this is a tough realm, their spirits are high. I don’t think they ever in a million years imagined they’d be going full immersion.
I have to admit, it feels really good using my status and cash to help other people. Who knows, maybe once this is all said and done, I’ll explore philanthropy as a career path.
I hope everything’s okay with you and Mia. I can understand that it might be stressful with you both now working out of the office so much. Keep me in your pocket. I’ll alert you if there are any issues.
For now, I’ve got a Nether Realm to navigate and a horse to find.
Sentences I never thought I’d say, Doc.
Chloe
Chapter Forty-Two
They walked under an unblinking sun.
The landscape stretched for miles, rock formations, canyons, and crevices of orange and red stone. The sky was a canvas of lilacs and mauve, and the air was still. Not a breath of wind blew around them.
Chloe was reminded of her journey to the Grand Canyon, a place she had once taken a helicopter tour over. It was a vast chasm of cracked rock. A place where a single uttered word would echo for miles, reverberating off rock until it eventually faded to a whisper far away.
A beautiful place that made those who visited feel the vastness of the world compared to their own lives. Made people realize just how small they were.
Chloe had thrown a rock. Watched it tumble.
And tumble.
And tumble.
Eventually it hit the bottom, the sound like a thunderclap.
The Nether Realm was not dissimilar.
They followed terrain that rose and fell, ribboning through the rocky chasms. There was no sign of life. No calls of birds, no cries of animals.
Along the road, they occasionally spotted evidence of war, footprints on the ground or pieces of metal that had fallen from the hands of the creatures who had rushed from the rift into Obsidian. It was this direction they headed since they had no other indication of an alternative that might host life.
They must have come from somewhere, right? Otherwise, why would they have traveled? Where had those who had been banished to the Nether Realm made their home?
After what felt like several hours, the four adventurers paused and took a break. Their stamina had taken a hit, walking beneath the warm sun, and they needed to rest.
“Well, at least we’re making progress.” Tag grunted, dropping to his ass and taking several large swigs of water from his flask.
“That’s always positive.”
“What are you talking about?” Ben replied. “For all we know, we could be going in circles. Everything looks the same here.”
Tag shrugged. “I’m just trying to be positive. Thanks for tearing that away from us.”
“You? Positive? You’re usually the first person with their nose in the air, telling us it’s a stupid idea to continue.”
“Me?” Tag theatrically placed a hand on his chest. “Whatever do you mean?”
“You know what he means,” Gideon chimed in. His hood was down, and his hair was slick with sweat. “You and I were the doubtful, cautious ones and Ben was the leader. That’s how it was.”
“Until someone more beautiful, strong, and courageous stepped in.” Chloe smirked.
Ben bowed his head. “And may I say, what a world of difference it has made!”
They laughed, then reached into their packs and replenished their energy with dried meats brought from Hammersworth.
/> After a few minutes, Tag asked, “Seriously, though, where the hell are we?”
Ben shrugged. “Beats me.”
Gideon picked meat from his teeth. “Doesn’t anyone have a map that works? Chloe? Didn’t you say your map tracked where you’ve been but didn’t show places you hadn’t seen yet? Can you see how far we’ve come?”
Chloe’s eyes went hazy. “Nope. I’m hitting a black screen when I try to open it.”
“Same,” Ben said. “No surprise, really. These are maps of Obsidian. This is another realm entirely. A forbidden realm. We’re hardly going to find someone who’s mapped the damn thing and can show us around, are we?”
Tag let out a frustrated grunt. His voice went up. “Well then, how are we ever going to find this damn horse?”
His words echoed around them, coming back to him in a mocking tone. He picked up a stone and hurled it into the distance.
“I wouldn’t draw attention to ourselves.” Chloe fixed Tag with a firm stare. “We don’t know what this realm holds. If it’s anything like the army that came forth when it opened, we might want to go about this in a stealthier fashion.”
“Easy for you to say,” Tag grumbled. “You’ve got your sneak ability. Us dwarves aren’t so blessed with nimble talents.”
They packed up their things and continued their journey a short time later. The sun hadn’t moved an inch in the sky, and they were soon sweating buckets once more.
“Do you think we can get sunburned in this game?” Gideon asked from beneath the shadow of his hood. “Do you think they programmed that in?”
“I hope not,” Ben replied as they clambered up another steep incline.
As they journeyed onward, Chloe kept her eyes peeled for any signs of movement or life. Although the place looked desolate, she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was watching the group, waiting with eager patience until they were off their guard and ready to be jumped.
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