by Terry Schott
Shawn turned and looked at her with a blank expression. “It sounds so strange to hear that. It’s always been real in my mind, but to see it become an actual virtual reality attraction in this world . . .”
“Oh, hey.” Ivan sat forward, his expression serious. “Speaking of real. I have a question that I’ve been meaning to ask you, Shawn.”
“What is it?”
“Is there a chance that the characters you wrote about actually are real?”
Shawn laughed. “What?”
Ivan waved a hand. “Cooper, for instance. Any chance he’s an actual flesh and blood person? Someone you knew in real life and wrote into your story?”
Shawn frowned. “You read the books, right?”
Ivan nodded. “More than a few times.”
“Then how can you ask me if these characters are real? A white-haired commando that travels through doorways of light, causing trouble while flashing a red pop bottle cap attached to one glove. I’m guessing that you are playing wi—”
“Seven.”
“What?”
“When Loredana saw him, he had seven pop bottle caps on his glove.”
Shawn’s head snapped around to look at Loredana, his expression confused. Loredana nodded. “I saw a guy that matched your description of Cooper.”
“That’s ridiculous. It must have been a fan dressed that way.”
“He disappeared through a doorway made of light.”
Shawn frowned and looked down, rubbing his temple. “None of that makes sense. You must be mistaken. I swear that I saw this story in my mind and wrote it. Sometimes it felt as if I was glimpsing a different dimension, but that’s just something all writers say when the story is flowing.” He looked at Loredana. “You must have been hallucinating.”
“Maybe.” Loredana shrugged.
Ivan stood and clapped his hands together. “Okay, doesn’t matter. Let’s get to work and build a virtual world.”
#19
Loredana entered the office early and made her way to the large room which she shared with Ivan. She opened the door and smiled. Ivan was sitting behind his bank of monitors, his eyes locked onto one for a moment before flitting to another, deep in creation mode. Loredana walked to her desk and turned her monitor on, looking at the piles of paper on her desk and mentally sorting which would get her attention first.
“What time is it?” Ivan asked.
“7 a.m.”
“And what day?”
Loredana swivelled to face him. “That question makes you sound like a time traveller from a sci-fi story.”
His eyes continued dancing between his monitors. “That’s funny.”
“It’s Saturday.” She paused. “November, in case you were about to ask me the month.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.” He snorted, but something in his tone told her that he might have asked.
“How’s it coming?”
“Good.” He typed away for a moment, then smiled. “Actually, excellent.”
“Still on track to release the initial module?”
The sound of typing stopped and Ivan stood, extending his arms above his head and yawning as he stretched from side to side. He looked at her desk. “Is that coffee?”
She tapped one of the portable cups. “This one is yours.”
“You are a saviour.” He made his way toward her, stepping over piles of manuals, unplugged monitors, hard drives, and other equipment. Their space had an invisible border in which his side was chaos while hers was clean and tidy. He snagged an extra chair and rolled it beside her desk, then picked up his coffee. “Thank you, kindly.” He remained standing as he pulled the tab back and took a sniff, closing his eyes and sighing.
“My pleasure.” Loredana smiled and watched him take a few sips. “Still on track?”
Ivan grinned over the rim of his cup. “Ahead of schedule.”
“That’s excellent!”
“I think we can start a beta test in three days.”
“Oh, wow. That’s over two months early.
“What can I say. I’m a god.” He nodded and took another drink.
“You’ve addressed the timeout issue?” She reached for her own cup and pulled open the tab.
“No.” He frowned. “If the system is going to be online night and day without rest, then I am not able to limit the amount of time a person will be able to spend inside of it.”
“That’s a shame.”
Ivan shrugged. “The only other option is to have the simulation power off at regular intervals, like we did with sOar.”
“But we can’t do that and have it interactive?”
“That’s correct. If you want people to be able to enter the sim and interact, then it must be online at all times.” He sat and shook his head. “I’m sorry, Loredana, I’ve tried, but it looks like we will have to rely on the common sense of people to play in a responsible manner.”
Loredana wrapped both hands around her cup and held it close to her mouth. She stared into space, occasionally taking sips of her coffee. Finally she looked at Ivan. “If you had more time could you figure out a way to incorporate a timeout into it? Maybe after three hours, a person will lose signal strength and have to leave the simulation for a few hours?”
Ivan shook his head. “There are millions, hundreds of millions of Magma units powered up and working. As we intended, they have all connected with each other to form a powerful network which creates the grid for the new virtual world. There’s no way I can kick people out once they decide to go in. They will have to make the choice to exit on their own. We can help them get out if they become disoriented, but we can’t force them.” He shrugged. “Free will is as important inside the simulation as it is in this reality.”
“Is there any way the network formed by the Magma units can be forced to shut down all at once to take the grid offline?”
“Officially, yes.” Ivan smiled. “But between you and me?” He shook his head. “Short of this world blowing up, there is no way to shut the Magma grid down.”
Loredana nodded, then smiled. “Perfect.”
#20
Ivan followed Loredana into the warehouse, waiting while she turned on the lights and moved to one of the animatronix robots covered with a white cloth tarp.
She reached for the power cord attached to its base and plugged it into the wall. The unit began to hum as the old motherboard located deep in the unit’s core began to power up. Clicks and beeps could be heard under the sheet as it began to boot up.
“What are we doing here?” Ivan took a step back as Loredana pulled the tarp from the robot to reveal the purple fox with the oversized cartoon-style head.
“You recognize this character?” She reached over and pulled Ivan close so that he stood beside her in front of the robotic character’s face.
“Yeah, sure.” Ivan looked up at the closed eyes of the fox. “It’s Clever Fox, a Cyber Park character from cartoons and movies. Everyone knows who he is.”
Loredana nodded. “This was part of a ride in the Florida park. There was a big water tunnel and passengers rode through areas where the major characters told you about the history of CyberWorld.”
“I remember that ride. My parents took me there when I was a kid.”
Loredana looked around the room. The large area was filled with dozens of the shrouded animatronix figures. “Over the years, they would switch out the units, keeping them as up-to-date—as real—as possible. They did not throw the old units out.”
Ivan frowned. “Why not?”
“My family would never allow it. I remember asking grandpa about it when I was younger. He said that these units were precious to the family, and it would not be right to throw them away just because they had been replaced by upgrades. Instead, they were stored in a warehouse.”
“Sounds like a waste of space.”
Loredana smiled. “Grandpa laughed when I said the same thing to him. He said that the Cyber family had enough money to store memorabilia and
keepsakes. To our family, the past has always been important, not to be forgotten.”
“Sounds like good advice.”
Loredana folded her arms. “They are all here.”
Ivan looked at the covered figures. “What do you mean?”
“The warehouse that stored the old units was guarded by the animatronix division. Those who ran it—the ones we hired—brought the entire population of that storage room to us here.” She smiled. “We have them all.”
“Why?”
“They were not safe.”
Ivan shook his head. “I don’t understand.”
“One of the main reasons my family wanted a Cyber in charge of the company at all times was to ensure that these animatronix robots were not destroyed.”
Ivan opened his mouth to speak, but Clever Fox began to move.
The eyelids slid open, revealing big blue eyes which slid mechanically from left to right. The eyes stopped at certain points before moving again. The giant head swivelled. Loredana smiled, her eyes becoming misty as she held up one hand, the thumb and little finger splayed outwards.
Clever Fox’s seemed to notice her hand signal. It jerked to a stop and tilted toward her. The mouth opened to reveal large white teeth.
“Is it smiling at us?” Ivan asked.
“Hello.” The greeting came from a speaker embedded somewhere in the robot’s chest. It sounded tinny, yet there was a hint of personality in the delivery. “I am the Clever Fox. Welcome to the cavern of wonders and dreams. It is good to s—”
“Stop.” Loredana commanded, and the robot stopped speaking. It looked down on them, its face frozen in a smile.
“It’s safe to talk,” she said.
The Fox continued to look down on them silently.
“This is my friend.” Loredana put her hand on Ivan’s shoulder. “No one else is near. We can speak.”
After a short pause, the Clever Fox stood straight and its manner seemed to change. “Hiya, Sweetheart.” The voice was different from before. “It looks like they’ve moved us. Are you okay?”
Tears dripped onto Loredana’s cheeks as she smiled. “Hiya, Daddy. I’m okay. And yes, we had to move you. I got everyone out.”
Ivan’s eyes widened as he looked from Loredana to the Clever Fox. “Daddy?”
Loredana nodded. “That’s right. These robots contain the essence of my dead family members.”
Ivan’s head began to tingle and his breath caught in his throat. “Oh my god.”
“I’m hoping that you can help me.” She looked at him.
“Help you do what?”
“Transfer them into the new world you have created.”
#21
Ivan drained the last bit of brandy in his glass and lowered it. “Great meal, Lore.”
“We should do this more often.” Loredana looked at Shawn. “Now that you have agreed to help with the park details, we can get some work done by brainstorming even when we eat.”
Shawn scraped the last piece of cheesecake from his plate. “Makes sense.”
“I am excited to get our newest idea roughed out into code.” Ivan stood and dropped his napkin on the table. “It okay with the two of you if I bounce out of here?”
“Absolutely,” Loredana said. “I’m not going to be back in the office tonight.”
Ivan smiled. “You mortals and your need for sleep.”
Shawn paused as he raised the fork to his mouth. Loredana laughed. “I will be in bright and early.”
Ivan winked. “Bring coffee. I will need some by then.” He slapped Shawn on the back and headed out.
The waiter brought coffee. When he was gone, Shawn looked at his cup, poured cream into it, and stirred. “Have you read my new book?”
“Shadows?” Loredana shook her head. “Not yet. I don’t seem to have much time to read lately.”
“I know you are busy. I was hoping you would have had a chance, though.”
“Something in it that I should know?”
“Maybe.” Shawn took a sip of coffee. “How well do you know Thorne?”
“Ivan?” She raised one eyebrow. “Everything there is to know.”
“Are you sure?”
“I research someone thoroughly before I agree to become business partners with them.”
"Really?"
“That’s right, I’ve had a dozen private investigators dig up everything I could find on you before we made the offer to bring you on as a consultant.” She smiled. “You’re boring. Sorry.”
“And here I thought years spent sitting in coffee shops writing on a laptop were the stuff books were made of.” He tapped a crumb of cheesecake from his plate with the tip of his finger and licked it. “I expected you would be cautious, but I wondered if you had made an exception for Ivan.”
“How so?”
“He’s the sole creator of virtual reality. There doesn’t seem to be anyone else out there capable of copying his accomplishments. I had guessed that you might be willing to forgo regular caution in order to partner with him.”
“I do my due diligence on all partners, Shawn, regardless of the situation.”
“Good.”
“Although my investigations into Ivan were not very helpful.”
“What do you mean?”
“There isn’t much info to be found about him, but it makes sense.” Loredana’s gaze drifted to a beautifully dressed woman walking past.
“He’s an orphan.”
Her eyes snapped to meet his. “How do you know that?”
Shawn chuckled. “I was guessing.”
“That’s a very lucky guess.”
“I might write books for a living, but I’ve always had a set of very keen senses. Especially when dealing with people.”
“What else does your keen sense tell you about Ivan, then? Do you think he is a bad person?”
Shawn frowned. “Not at all. I think he’s a good guy.” He pushed his plate to one side. “As good as any person can be expected to be.”
“Good. I’m glad to hear that you don’t think he’s dangerous.”
Shawn chuckled. “Oh, he’s dangerous.”
She laughed. “Make up your mind.”
“You’ve read my books. You know what I think about virtual reality.”
“Only partly.” Loredana grinned. “You haven’t written the final chapter of your story, so it’s hard for me, as a reader, to know if you are for it or against it.”
“There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.”
“Indeed.” She sipped her coffee. “What is it you would have me learn from your new book?”
“When you told me that you think Cooper appeared and saved your life, I was skeptical.”
“Me too. I still am.”
“The more I think about it, the more I think you could be right.” He sighed. “Maybe I am not writing a story. Perhaps I am orating a history that is happening on another plane of reality. Seeing things that others can’t for some reason.”
Loredana said nothing, and he shrugged. “The proper thing to say here is, crazier things have happened, but I don’t know if that’s true in this case. Here’s the thing: Shadows deals with a different time and place within the universe that I tell stories about.”
“Sounds interesting.”
“I thought so. It deals with a young girl and her seventeen-year-old brother, Samson Thorn.”
“The Samson Thorn from your series who is in his fifties?”
“That’s right.”
Loredana smiled. “That’s a very cool concept for a book. Perhaps I should read it.”
“I would recommend it. There is one important point that you should know immediately, in case it is important to you.”
“What’s that?”
“When he is younger”—Shawn set his cup down and leaned forward—“Samson Thorn spells his last name with an e in it.”
Loredana’s smile melted. “The same as Ivan?”
Shawn nodded.
Glen came into the boardroom with a package under his right arm. He set it down and dropped into his seat. “Good morning, Yuri.” He reached for a letter opener.
“Good morning, sir.”
Glen removed the outer packaging and Yuri chuckled. Glen scowled and cut the tape holding the box closed.
“You are one of the last people I expected to get one of those.”
Glen opened the flaps and reached into the box, extracting the Magma gaming console. He pushed the wrapping onto the floor and set the unit down in front of him. “I likely am one of the last to get one.”
“They are very useful.” Yuri reached for a paper from the pile in front of him.
Glen laughed. “You have one?”
Yuri shrugged. “It’s worth getting simply for the incredible internet connection speed.”
“There is a theory being thrown around that the unit has created a new internet, making the old one obsolete.”
“That would not surprise me.”
“It’s disturbing if true.”
“Why?” Yuri frowned. “As long as people can find what they are looking for, they don’t care if it’s an old internet or new.”
“What else have you heard, Yuri?”
“The same information everyone is spouting.” He shook the paper in his hand. “Can we get on with the debriefing?”
“That can wait.” Glen tapped the console with one hand. “Understanding this is our new priority.”
Yuri stared at him.
“Once she announced that they would release a theme park, they became our competitor.”
“I doubt it will affect our sales, sir.”
Glen laughed. “Then it’s a good thing you are not in charge.”
“Do you remember something called Virtual World?”
“No.”
“It was a three-dimensional world. People logged onto their computer and entered a very interesting dimension.”
“Viewed through their screen.”
“Correct. It made millions, but it did not affect our business.”
“Have you read Shawn Whitehurst’s book series, The Game is Life?”
