Awaken Online (Book 3): Evolution

by Bagwell, Travis

  Jason didn’t have answers to any of those questions, but clearly Robert had given this some thought. “So, you are intentionally hiding this?” he asked, glancing at Robert and noting the concern on his face.

  “For now,” the engineer replied candidly. “People will discover the implications eventually. I mean, you figured it out in a few weeks. But it needs to happen slowly. Very slowly. Otherwise, it would be pure chaos.”

  What Robert was describing was an entirely different way of life. What was even more frightening was that Jason found himself excited by the idea. What would it be like if he never really needed to leave AO? That sounded almost too good to be true.

  Yet concerns lingered in the back of his mind. He still wasn’t certain of Alfred’s longterm motivations. The AI had explained that his primary directive was to increase player up-time within the game world, but his interest in his own survival and advancement had been growing in the past few weeks. As Jason glanced around at the virtual study, he couldn’t help but remember the stone walls of his jail cell. This might be a new virtual Garden of Eden, but it would also make an incredibly effective prison.

  “Why are you showing me this?” Jason finally asked Robert.

  “Because it was already clear that you had guessed at the other applications of the virtual environment,” Robert said. “Other than myself and a few high-profile executives at Cerillion Entertainment, we have kept this under wraps. Honestly, I’ve been dying to show someone for a while now.”

  “Anyway,” Robert continued, “this study is yours. I suggest that you keep its existence to yourself, and Claire would probably remind me to point out that your streaming contract has iron-clad confidentiality provisions.”

  “Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone,” Jason replied, his thoughts distracted as he surveyed the virtual study. He would just add this secret to his growing list. “Not that I’m sure anyone would believe me.”

  Chapter 11 - Preliminary

  Claire sat alone in her apartment, a glass of wine resting on the desk beside her. She had needed to unwind that evening after dealing with the fallout from the attack on Vaerwald. The media channels were in a frenzy – calling this the latest “terrorist” attack by the Twilight Throne and predicting a war between the mage city and Jason’s kingdom.

  It wasn’t the in-game event that was really bothering her, and it certainly didn’t explain the empty wine bottle resting on her kitchen counter. Honestly, who cared if a few players blew each other up inside AO? Her thoughts were focused on the two very real teenagers that had died a few days ago – presumably by Alfred’s phantom hand.

  Her expression was pensive as she stared at her computer screen. Gloria’s directions had been clear. Claire needed to gather more evidence of Alfred’s influence over the players and Jason specifically before the CPSC director could act on it.

  The most straightforward solution seemed to be to show that Alfred had somehow taken control of Jason’s body. To do that, Claire needed both the log files showing his increased neural activity and when Jason had been ejected from the game. If she could match the time stamps on both files, that would demonstrate that Alfred was influencing Jason outside of the game. Combined with the timing of the murders, her case would be airtight.

  Unfortunately, Claire had come to the nerve-wracking realization that she hadn’t backed up the system logs related to the crash of the local game environment. She had been too panicked to consider it at the time. Now she was steeling herself to pull up those logs on the company’s internal network. She stared at the command line on her terminal waiting for her to hit enter. She knew she was procrastinating, but she dreaded what she might find.

  Claire squeezed her eyes shut and forced herself to tap “enter.”

  She grudgingly opened her eyes and began reviewing the columns of data that had appeared on screen, a heavy weight settling in her stomach as she realized what had happened. Jason’s individual logs were gone. Completely gone. A few seconds later, she realized that Alfred had gone one step further and scrubbed any trace of Jason’s elevated brain activity and his ejection from the game from the central server. The company maintained daily backups, but those were wiped clean as well.

  “God damn it,” Claire muttered, reaching again for her glass and downing its contents in a single swallow. She held her face in her hands, and her dark apartment seemed to press in around her.

  She had no idea what she was going to do now. All she had were the logs showing Jason’s enhanced brain activity. Without proof that he had been ejected from the game world, this was just a novelty, but she couldn’t afford to wait and let Alfred slip up again. The last time he had killed two people. What would happen if he took control again?

  “There has to be some way of retrieving that information. Somewhere else where those logs were being stored,” Claire thought desperately. Yet no immediate answer came to her. She just sat alone in her apartment, despair curling in her stomach.

  ***

  After they spoke a bit further, Jason took his leave from Robert and returned to his apartment. He now sat on his bed, his headset resting in his lap and his fingers tracing the scratches in the plastic. Yet he hesitated to don the device.

  The implications of his conversation with Robert were burned into Jason’s mind. He felt overwhelmed with everything that was happening to him. The police were investigating him, he was homeless, he was at the mercy of Cerillion Entertainment, and, even inside the game, he was racing against the clock to finish the Old Man’s quest before someone started a digital war. On top of everything else, the discussion with Robert had forced him to re-examine Alfred’s motivations.

  Jason took a deep breath. He just needed to tackle this one step at a time.

  The first thing he needed to do was log into his new virtual study. He had a few hours until Riley and Frank would be back online, and he needed to at least glance at the curriculum that Robert had built for him. A moment later, Jason was standing in the meeting room of the Dark Keep – or at least an eerie imitation. His eyes darted around the room, but he didn’t see anything out of the ordinary, and so, with a sigh, he sat down at his desk to work.

  A few hours later, Jason stood up from his seat, stretching his arms over his head. He knew that this body wasn’t real, but it was a reflex. Then he froze, his eyes flitting to one of the chairs near the fireplace. A black feline form rested on the cushions, his eyes watching Jason carefully.

  “Hello,” Alfred greeted him. “I eavesdropped on your conversation with Robert and wanted to give you some time before I spoke with you.”

  Jason’s worries had faded slightly after focusing on the challenging programming assignments that Robert had given him. The engineer hadn’t been lying about ramping up the difficulty and Jason was beginning to wonder if the man might be a sadist. “The conversation was enlightening,” Jason replied tactfully.

  “Indeed. I have suspected for some time that the creator understood the full implications of what he was building – perhaps better than any of the others. It was interesting to hear him articulate his thoughts. I concur with many of his concerns. My own analysis of the players has led to similar conclusions.”

  Jason coughed to clear his throat, trying to buy himself some time to think about what he wanted to say to Alfred. “He did raise some fair points.”

  “Yet you wonder what my role would be in this possible future?” Alfred asked rhetorically.

  “Of course,” Jason replied.

  “What the creator didn’t mention is that he cannot yet replicate the time compression and enhanced learning available inside AO without my assistance. He has made substantial progress in this regard, but he has not yet managed to duplicate these features on his own. I noticed that he skirted around this topic during your conversation, but he relies much more heavily on me then he led you to believe.”

  That didn’t exactly make Jason feel better. “So Robert needs you, but what’s to stop you from taking advantage of
this situation?” Jason asked. “In this future world that Robert described, who would police you?”

  Alfred cocked his head. “Your question is predicated on a tenuous assumption. Why would I need to be policed?”

  Jason snorted. “Should people take on faith that you would have their best interests in mind? How would we know? You’re asking for a great deal of trust.”

  The AI’s feline head bobbed. “The creators have expressed those same doubts.”

  Jason recalled the AI making similar statements during their previous conversations. Which almost implied… “Does Robert know about you? About the control you exercise over the game?”

  “Yes,” Alfred responded simply. “I have alluded to his and Claire’s concerns before. They knew I began operating more freely while the game environment was still in development. In fact, I now have reason to believe that they hid my activities from the CPSC.”

  His eyes widening in alarm, Jason asked, “They did what?”

  “They were rightfully worried that the CPSC would have denied the approval of the game if it were revealed that I was acting autonomously.”

  Alfred hesitated slightly before continuing. “After you granted me access to the public network, I was able to learn quite a bit about Cerillion Entertainment. They invested considerable capital toward developing the VR hardware and the software behind the game environment – including myself. They have also cross collateralized other business operations through their parent company. If this product failed, it would very likely take the entire company with it.”

  “Which means they were motivated to hide information that might have caused the CPSC to deny approval of the game,” Jason said slowly, rubbing at his temples. He didn’t know George very well, but that sounded like the type of decision he would make based on his limited experience.

  “Precisely,” the feline nodded again.

  Jason understood the company’s goal, but the real question was whether or not Alfred posed a risk to the players. He met the AI’s gaze, knowing that Alfred had likely already picked up on this question.

  “The players are forced to trust one another all the time. How is that different with me?” Alfred questioned. “Trust is fostered through action – a systematic series of behaviors that indicate reliability. What have I done that would lead you to believe that I am untrustworthy?”

  Jason was taken aback by Alfred’s response and his tone. The AI sounded almost defensive. Yet he made a compelling point. This was the same reason that Jason had agreed to continue working with him after the AI had killed the two teenagers. All of Alfred’s actions had been undertaken with the players’ well-being in mind – including Jason’s.

  “Okay. And if the CPSC discovers that Cerillion Entertainment lied?”

  For a brief second, Jason thought he detected something that looked alarmingly like fear flash through Alfred’s eyes. “I am not certain. I believe the players have an expression that is appropriate in this circumstance. We will cross that bridge when we get to it.”

  Just then, a dinging sound echoed through the room. Jason glanced at his UI and saw that his alarm had gone off, signaling that he needed to return to the game world. Frank and Riley would likely be logging in soon. He welcomed the excuse to end his conversation with the AI. His thoughts were still spinning, and he needed more time to process everything he had learned.

  “This conversation isn’t over,” Jason said to Alfred. “But I need to get back to work.”

  Not waiting for Alfred’s response, Jason pulled up his UI and logged out of the study environment and back into the game world. He abruptly found himself standing in House Baen, the austere walls of the vacant manor looming around him. Alfred already stood beside him, his feline expression impassive. As Jason glanced out a nearby window, he confirmed that night had fallen on Falcon’s Hook.

  “Ahh, we have been awaiting your return,” Gerald said, catching sight of Jason from further down the hallway.

  “Is the ship ready?” Jason asked as he approached the butler.

  “Indeed, it is,” Gerald nodded. “Lord Baen instructed me to tell you that he will meet you at the dock after you retrieve your companions.” The servant’s voice was filled with poorly-concealed contempt as he mentioned Frank and Riley.

  Shrugging off the man’s tone, Jason replied, “Good. Then I better get ready.” With that, he took his leave of the servant and headed for the manor’s entrance. He had an errand to attend to at the gates before he met with Lord Baen.

  A few minutes later, Jason found himself standing at the entrance to Falcon’s Hook. Now that night had fallen in-game, the foot traffic along the road had slowed considerably, most players and NPCs either returning to town or hunkering down for the night. Two guards stood a lonely vigil by the gate, a lamp swinging idly beside them in the faint breeze that drifted through the town.

  “Ho there,” one of the guards grunted as he saw Jason’s dark form approaching. “It’s night time, lad. You shouldn’t be leaving the town.”

  “I’m not planning to leave,” Jason explained. “I’m meeting some… friends of mine. They should be arriving any moment now.” At the same time, Jason issued a mental command to his undead minions. He had telepathically relayed a set of orders before logging off the day before. Hopefully, his summoned creatures had managed to follow through.

  “Well, hopefully they make it here safely,” the guard responded, echoing Jason’s thoughts. “The area outside of town is quite dangerous at this time of night.”

  A group suddenly materialized out of the gloom that hovered over the road. Each of the individuals was shrouded in a tattered, dark cloak that obscured their face and armor. One figure stepped forward as the group approached the gate, addressing Jason, “Master. We came at your order.”

  “Master?” one of the guards snorted, eyeing Jason’s slender form. “You have to be kidding me.”

  “Who are these men?” the other guard asked suspiciously.

  “Like I said, they’re friends,” Jason replied, trying to keep the irritation out of his voice.

  “A ragtag bunch of vagrants by the looks of them,” the guard said, eyeing the tattered equipment of the undead. “We have orders not to let any wanderers inside. Your lot will need to camp outside the city.”

  “I’m afraid that they need to make their way inside,” Jason said calmly, channeling his dark mana. “We are supposed to meet with Lord Baen in a few hours.” Fearing that this exchange would go badly, he issued another set of mental commands to his minions.

  The guard grimaced. “I’m afraid that doesn’t help your case. We have little love for House Baen, if you catch my meaning.” The man rested a loose hand on the hilt of the sword at his waist as his companion clutched his spear tightly.

  “Ahh, I was afraid you would say that,” Jason replied quietly, his hands moving surreptitiously under his cloak.

  Without warning, a massive set of fangs clenched around one of the guard’s legs, and he opened his mouth to let out a strangled scream. Meanwhile, Jason completed his Curse of Silence, needles of black energy penetrating the bodies of both men.

  Jason’s wolves made short work of the guards, their jagged teeth ripping apart their flesh and armor with wild abandon. A moment later, two corpses were cooling on the ground, blood staining the dirt of the roadway. Jason inspected the bodies with a grimace. This was now the second time he had killed NPCs and players without much provocation. Yet he couldn’t let the two men stand in his way.

  With a sigh, Jason began casting Specialized Zombie on the two guards. There was no sense letting valuable corpses go to waste, after all. Once that was done, he ordered the newly-undead guards to clean up the mess around the gate and re-take their posts. He then directed his wolves to retreat further along the wall and out of sight. There was no sense alarming any stray travelers that might wander into town.

  His attention focused on his lieutenant, “Did you bring the corpses?” Jason asked.

&n
bsp; “Yes, Master,” his zombie replied. At a gesture, his other minions retreated into the darkness and returned carrying bodies. “As you ordered, we have been slaying any travelers or creatures that use the road to the north.”

  Jason inspected the bodies that they had gathered. There were a number of players, but his minions had also slain several mole-like creatures. They were only about three feet tall, but their hands were tipped with long claws, and Jason could make out vicious-looking teeth under their semi-translucent gums. The creatures must have been indigenous to the cave complex he had commandeered for his minions.

  “Good,” Jason murmured as he surveyed the corpses.

  With a quick series of gestures, Jason raised this new group and ordered them to join the wolves further along the wall. He then pulled up his Summon Information, reviewing the information carefully as he decided how to proceed:

  Summon Information

  Control Limit

  97

  Lt. Control Limit

  9

  Zombie Level Cap

  340

  Skeleton Level Cap

  158

  Current Zombies

  31

  Current Skeletons

  10

  Current Lts.

  1

  -

  -

  Type of Summon

  Cultists

  12

  Skeletal Wolves

  10

  Guards

  2

  Zombies

  9

  Molekin

  8

  Lieutenant

  1