by Lucas Flint
“That is fine by me,” said Chuck as he stood upright again. “Now, perhaps it is time for you to go. As a member of the Glitch Elimination Task Force, I am certain you have many glitches to attend to.”
“I do,” said Targetman with a short nod. “But if the Z-Virus breaks out again due to your negligence, then the Task Force will have no choice but to step in and handle it ourselves. Do you understand?”
“Perfectly,” said Chuck. “After all, I helped write the rules for such a situation.”
Targetman nodded again. “Then I must go.”
Targetman shot me a quick glare for some reason before turning around and walking out the door. I couldn’t see his Sidekick, Girl Invisible, but I thought I heard a softer set of footsteps falling into line with Targetman’s own. Soon, Targetman was gone and I no longer heard his footsteps, which made me wonder if he had some kind of fast travel or teleportation Powers that allowed him to travel long distances quickly.
Chuck, as usual, showed no signs of stress, despite how tense the situation had been. He simply readjusted his tie and then looked over at me. “Sorry you had to see that, Nyle. Excellent communication between the Department and the Task Force usually means we rarely cross paths, but every now and then there is a … miscommunication, I suppose you would say, that requires we Department agents step in and directly intervene in a situation involving the Task Force. Like I said, it rarely happens, but when it does, it is usually unpleasant.”
“I don’t suppose the Department ever oversteps its boundaries at times, does it?” I asked.
Chuck frowned. “Perhaps, but that is off-topic. I expected a thank you for my saving you.”
“Thanks,” I said. I glanced at the open doorway. “How come Targetman didn’t know I was with Project Second Life? And how did he know about Project Second Life at all?”
Chuck slipped his sunglasses back on over his eyes. “As I have told you before, SI Games is part of Project Second Life. As a result, we’ve had to divulge the project’s existence to quite a few SI Games workers, mostly among the executives and senior managers, but also the Glitch Elimination Task Force. This is because the Glitch Elimination Task Force exists to deal with all glitches, including any involving Project Second Life participants such as yourself. In order to avoid potentially difficult situations, we had to make them aware of Project Second Life, though don’t worry. Each Task Force member has signed an NDA stating they will not reveal the existence of Project Second Life to anyone who is not already aware of it.”
I frowned. “Targetman didn’t seem to like me very much.”
“It’s nothing personal,” said Chuck with a shake of his head. “The Task Force sees themselves as the primary protectors of Capes Online. As a result, they tend to dislike anything they are not allowed to directly deal with. That includes Project Second Life participants, whose behavior and actions are entirely under the jurisdiction of the Department of VR and its equivalent in foreign countries. Project Second Life participants are notorious for the glitches they cause, which makes them disliked even more by the Task Force.”
I nodded. From how Chuck explained it, it sounded like how the FBI, which handled federal cases, was often treated by local police departments. I could understand Targetman’s frustration a little better now, but I was still really glad that Chuck had saved me.
“Are there ever times where you guys work with them?” I said, gesturing with my head at the open doorway that Targetman had stepped through. “Like with, say, Atmosfear?”
Chuck folded his arms in front of his chest. “There have been times in the past where the Department has worked with the Task Force to deal with glitches caused by Project Second Life players. And we have indeed been working with the Task Force to locate Atmosfear, though we’ve had no luck so far.”
He then leaned toward me and whispered, “Personally, I suspect Targetman dislikes you in particular due to your role in the Blackout. The Glitch Elimination Task Force was rendered powerless after Dark Kosmos’ attack, which is why they did not help you defeat him. He’s probably just jealous you defeated Dark Kosmos and he didn’t.”
I frowned. That seemed rather childish to me, but then again, Targetman did seem to take great pride in his role as a member of the Task Force. I guess being one of the best players in the world meant he wasn’t entirely free of normal human emotions after all.
Then Chuck pulled back and suddenly looked at Recover, who had apparently been standing there quietly the whole time. “And who is this?”
“Recover,” I said quickly. “She’s one of the players who helped me defeat Dark Kosmos. Remember? I mentioned her to you.”
“Oh,” said Chuck. He held out a hand toward her. “My apologies, miss. I did not recognize you. Rest assured that, although you are technically not supposed to know about Project Second Life, you have been placed the list of approved individuals who are allowed to know of the Project’s existence. You need not worry about facing any repercussions for knowing about the Project unless you break your NDA.”
“That’s … um … good to know,” said Recover. She seemed a bit taken aback by Chuck’s sudden appearance, which was when I remembered that this was the first time she had actually seen him before.
“While it is wonderful meeting you, I must ask you to leave the room while I talk with Winter,” said Chuck, gesturing at the open doorway. “The content of our discussion is highly sensitive and top secret. You may come back in once we are done talking.”
To my surprise, Recover didn’t argue with Chuck about being bossed around in her own Base. She just nodded quickly and left the room, with Brawn following dutifully behind her. When the doors automatically closed behind them, I looked at Chuck and said, “You didn’t come here just to save me from Targetman, did you?”
“No, I did not,” said Chuck. “There have been some recent developments in the real world concerning Project Second Life, Atmosfear, and you. And I fear that none of it is any good.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
“What do you mean none of it is any good?” I said. “Last time we spoke, you mentioned to me that Project Second Life was at risk of being shut down.”
“Don’t worry,” said Chuck. “Project Second Life is not in any danger of being shut down … yet.”
I frowned. “’Yet’ is probably my least favorite word in the whole English language right now, especially in this context.”
Chuck scratched the back of his neck. “Apologies, but right now that is all I can say about Project Second Life’s status. There is still a chance that it might be shut down at some point, but right now SI Games has convinced the UN not to do away with it and Director Johnson has convinced the President to keep supporting it. The big disagreement, as you might guess, comes from Atmosfear.”
“Have you guys managed to find him yet?” I said.
Chuck shook his head rapidly. “No, not yet. However, we have been receiving more and more reports from Villains players who describe seeing an Atmosfear lookalike in the criminal underbelly of Adventure City. It looks like Atmosfear is recruiting Villain players into his Team, though why, we are not sure.”
I scowled. “Probably not for anything good, I can imagine.”
“That isn’t even the worst part about this development,” said Chuck. He looked around for a moment as if to make sure no one was eavesdropping, and then leaned forward and said, “Those players Atmosfear is recruiting? We can’t find them.”
“Can’t find them?” I repeated. “What do you mean by that?”
“You know how Atmosfear has somehow cut himself off from our tracking system?” said Chuck. “It appears that whatever method he uses to hide himself is also being used to apply to his new Teammates. All in all, about a dozen Villain players, ranging from low-level newbies to high-level veterans, have disappeared since coming into contact with Atmosfear.”
“That’s not good.”
“That is putting it mildly,” said Chuck. “We don’t know w
here Atmosfear is. We don’t know why he’s recruiting players. And even worse, we don’t know where he will strike next.”
I nodded. “I think I can help you with that. I got the Z-Virus from an Infected Civilian, but do you know where that Infected Civilian got it from? Giggles, Atmosfear’s Sidekick, who sold it to him under the pretense that it was a drug that could give Civilians superpowers.”
Chuck’s eyes widened with horror. “Are you sure that it was Giggles who sold that Civilian the Z-Virus?”
“Positive,” I said. “I didn’t see him myself, but the Civilian’s girlfriend described him to me and he fit Giggles’ description almost to a T. I mean, Giggles isn’t the only Assassin in the game, but I don’t know anyone else who would fit his description.”
“Oh, dear,” said Chuck. He began pacing back and forth, a worried expression on his face. “If Giggles is selling the Z-Virus to NPCs under the guise of a drug that can give a person Powers, then it stands to reason that Atmosfear has somehow managed to get his hands on the Z-Virus, despite the fact that all traces of the Z-Virus were wiped out during the Reset five years ago.”
“But it’s not the full thing,” I said. “It’s a weaker strain of the original Z-Virus, so it might not be as bad as it used to be.”
“Either way, this is a very troubling development,” said Chuck as he continued to pace back and forth. “The last time the Z-Virus ran rampant, it was a catastrophe almost on par with the Blackout. What in the world does Atmosfear think he is going to accomplish by unleashing even a weak version of the Z-Virus onto the world?”
“Some men just want to watch the world burn,” I said with a shrug. “And some men, like Atmosfear, want to be the ones who set it on fire and then watch it burn. I doubt he has any greater goals other than that.”
“Even so, he must be stopped,” said Chuck. He stopped and looked at me. “Atmosfear might be nothing more than a glorified small-town criminal, but that doesn’t mean he cannot cause a lot of trouble if he wants. And if he’s going as far as unleashing the Z-Virus itself onto Capes Online … then he is even more insane than I thought.”
“Does the mind-to-game transfer process negatively affect peoples’ minds?” I asked. “Not that I’ve noticed any psychopathy in myself, but I wonder if the upload process somehow made Atmosfear worse than he already was.”
“Not that we are aware of,” said Chuck. He stroked his beard, troubled. “This just makes it all the more imperative that we not only find and stop Atmosfear but also find out who uploaded his mind to the game in the first place. You remember that he was never supposed to be in Capes Online at all.”
I nodded. “I know. You guys messed up pretty bad by letting that happen.”
“At least we got the leaker,” said Chuck sharply. “In any case, thanks for the information. We will pass it along to the Glitch Elimination Task Force. Although Atmosfear is technically under our jurisdiction due to his status as a Project Second Life participant, I feel we will need the help of the Task Force to take him down if he is trying to spread the Z-Virus.”
Chuck sounded resigned when he said that. No doubt he didn’t like the idea of working with the Task Force. Given Targetman’s obvious distrust toward the Department of VR, I couldn’t blame him. Then again, seeing how the Department had messed up so much already, I couldn’t help but wonder if Targetman’s distrust was justified.
“Good idea,” I said. “The more people we have looking for Atmosfear, the better. Anyway, what about me?”
Chuck looked at me blankly. “What about you?”
“The Z-Virus,” I snapped. I patted my chest. “I am Infected with it. Thanks for saving me from Targetman and all, but that doesn’t change the fact that I am Infected with the Z-Virus. Do you have a way to heal me from it?”
Chuck frowned. “Sadly, I do not have a cure. SI Games never developed an in-game cure for your particular strain Z-Virus, mostly due to its complex and highly realistic nature, which made it immune to all in-game healing Powers and items. That is why the Reset had to happen in the first place.”
My eyes bugged out. “You mean I am destined to die?”
“Essentially,” said Chuck. “The only known cure for the Z-Virus is to delete a player’s character entirely, but of course we cannot delete you without actually killing you.”
“Dang it,” I said. I looked around the bubble in which I stood. “So am I going to have to stay inside this Quarantine bubble for the rest of my in-game life?”
“Not necessarily,” said Chuck. “There is a way to contain the Z-Virus other than with a Quarantine bubble while also allowing you freedom of movement. You won’t like it, though.”
I pressed up against the bubble as hard as I could, my eyes locked on Chuck. “What is it? Tell me what it is. It can’t be that bad.”
“I suppose it’s not objectively bad, but I don’t think you’ll like it anyway,” said Chuck. “Tell me, have you heard of Kids Mode?”
I frowned. “Kids Mode? Is that, like, a mode for kids?”
“Exactly,” said Chuck. “It is a mode that parents of Capes Online players can set up. It censors adult content, drops the Pain threshold to East, and also makes it harder to level up. It also prevents you from entering certain adult establishments, such as strip clubs or bars.”
“But I thought kids weren’t allowed to play Capes Online,” I said. “Don’t you have to be at least eighteen before you can own and operate a GamePod?’
“True, but it is possible for children under the age of eighteen to get Capes Online accounts if their parents sign a consent form,” said Chuck. “You rarely hear about it because of the legal issues involved, but if you call SI Games and ask them about it, they will send you the correct forms you can sign and submit to both SI Games and the Department of VR in order to allow your child to play Capes Online.”
Frankly, given everything I saw in Capes Online, I was astounded that any parent would be okay with allowing their kid to play this game. Even with Kids Mode, this game was way too realistic at times. I bet most kids who played this game got traumatized. I know I would have if I had been allowed to play this as a kid.
“All right, but I don’t see how that’s relevant to my current situation,” I said.
“Five years ago, before the Reset, a curious thing was discovered,” said Chuck. “Players using Kids Mode reported that they were unable to be Infected by the Z-Virus. Even if a Z-Virus carrier bit them, they were unaffected by it. Multiple reports from Kids Mode players all over the world described the same thing, so it wasn’t a freak accident or glitch. This revelation almost led SI Games to enable Kids Mode for all players regardless of age, but when they realized that it wouldn’t cure the already Infected or stop the Z-Virus itself, they decided to reset the infected servers instead.”
Despite the fact that that had happened five years ago, I breathed a sigh of relief. I could see a ton of older players getting really insulted if they were forced to play Kids Mode, even if it was for their own good. Between resetting all of the servers and being forced to play Kids Mode, I could see why a lot of players would choose the former.
“Even more interesting, players who got Infected and then turned on Kids Mode discovered that they could not spread the Z-Virus,” said Chuck. “Therefore, the solution to your problem is to force Kids Mode onto you until we can create a cure for the Z-Virus strain which you are Infected with.”
“What?” I said, almost shouted. “Kids Mode? I’m not a kid.”
“I know you aren’t,” said Chuck, “but it may be the only way to ensure that you can keep playing the game while not having to worry about you accidentally spreading the Z-Virus to other players and NPCs.”
I scowled. “Are you absolutely sure there isn’t some other way to do that? I’d rather be Quarantined for the rest of my life than have to play Kids Mode.”
“I understand how embarrassing it must seem, but it’s your only realistic option at the moment,” said Chuck. “Rest assured
that I will forward your condition to the developers at SI Games and see if they can perhaps develop a cure for your condition. I cannot, however, guarantee that they will be able to do this or that they will be able to make a cure in time to stop your Infection.”
“What do you mean?” I said. “Will Kids Mode stop the Infection from spreading?”
“Sadly, it will not,” said Chuck, shaking his head. “Although it will keep the Z-Virus from spreading to other players and NPCs, it will not stop the Infection already inside you. It should slow down the countdown timer considerably, however, which will give us more time to discover a cure for your illness.”
I groaned. “Still not sure about this …”
“Don’t you have a couple of missions to complete?” asked Chuck. “If you die, then you won’t get to complete them.”
I glanced at my ‘MISSIONS’ tab and saw the two missions and one sub-mission I was supposed to complete. “You’re right. And if I stay in here, then that means Atmosfear will have more freedom to spread the Z-Virus. I need to stop him.”
“Exactly,” said Chuck. “So, do you wish for me to enable Kids Mode or not? I can do it from here. It’s very simple and doesn’t take very much time at all.”
I bit my lower lip. I still felt deeply embarrassed about having to use Kids Mode, of all things, but I decided that however embarrassing Kids Mode might be, being Quarantined and unable to go anywhere and do anything was even worse. If I was going to stop Atmosfear from spreading the Z-Virus, then I had no choice but to play in Kids Mode.
I nodded. “Do it, Chuck. If this is the only way I can stop Atmosfear, then so be it.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Chuck nodded and then tapped an invisible screen in front of him a couple of times before he said, “There you go. Kids Mode should now be enabled. You should start to see the results any second now.”
