He shook his head and stopped thinking about the future; he couldn’t change what was going to happen then. He just wanted to keep his team healthy and effective right now. That’s all there ever was…right now.’
His watch chirped, announcing the ten minutes had passed. Slowly the team opened their eyes. Brandon watched, scanning them closely for signs of confusion.
Easton kept his eyes closed a moment longer than the rest, then took a deep breath in through his nose, and a long breath out. The corners of his mouth turned upwards into a smile and Brandon relaxed. Easton’s eyes opened and he looked at Brandon. “You’re right,” he said. “The smell and background vibe is distinct. We’re definitely in real life. How could we have missed it?”
Brandon shrugged and Alan answered. “We get used to stimuli, and soon can’t sense the finer details, which is the only way to be sure. Slowing down our minds and giving them a break from all thought and perception is the best way to reset and help us sense where we really are.”
“It’s a tough battle,” Kay said. “We know how to meditate and why, yet we still find reasons to put it off. What about all the others who don’t have a clue that they should be doing it?”
“They get Blurred,” Tony said. “I wonder what happens then?”
“Nothing, most of the time,” Brandon said. “But I think every once in a while… something bad happens.”
“How do we fight this when we’re no longer together?” Kay asked.
“We don’t know when that will be,” Brandon said. “I think they’re gonna let us stay together.”
“That wouldn’t be normal,” Easton said doubtfully. He was worried about having to leave his friends behind.
Brandon smiled. “We aren’t a normal group,” he said. He shrugged his shoulders, “Don’t worry about what might happen; we do our best by being in the moment. Let’s just keep doing that and see how it goes.”
“All right,” Easton said. “So what do we do now? They think we believe we’re in the Sim, right?”
Brandon shook his head. “When it comes to this particular game, we play the same way as always; we know where we are, and we act that way. If you were operating as if we were in the Sim, then change that mindset. We’re in the Dream and we all know it now, right?” he looked around and everyone nodded confidently. “Then that’s how we interact with everyone. Games within games won’t help here, so we won’t pretend we think we’re in the Sim but really know that we’re in the Dream… it’s too confusing. Work out and get caught up on our fitness level so we can get back to the Sim as soon as possible.”
The team nodded and began to walk towards the exit. Brandon stopped them to make one more point. “We should be proud that as a team we’ve been able to stay unblurred all this time. I don’t think there are many groups who can say the same thing. We continue to fight the Blurr. It would be very bad for our group if we lost our grip on reality. I think that would be the end of us, so let’s keep working together to stay on top of it.”
The group nodded and left the workout room.
In a room far from the facility, a technician watched them leave the room on a view screen. He made note of their activities and conversation in his log book.
Chapter 48
“I have a new challenge for you and your team, Brandon.”
Brandon sat across from Thorn in his office inside the Sim. They never spoke outside of the Sim in order to remain safe from the prying eyes of the General.
“What kind of challenge, Father?” Brandon asked. He’d been expecting a meeting like this for a while. Easton would turn eighteen the following week, and would be leaving the Centre.
“What I’m about to tell you must remain a secret,” Thorn said.
“Between the three of us?” Brandon guessed. “I assume that what you’re telling me, you’ve already told Cooper?”
Thorn shook his head. “Not yet. If you agree, then I’ll talk to him next.”
“Okay… what is it?”
Thorn brought an image up on his large monitor. It was a city, clean and bustling with people. “We’re ready to release a civilian version of the Sim to the public,” he said. “Regular people will subscribe and pay a fee to play. Preorders started a month ago, and the numbers are huge. Beta testing will last for two months, and will consist of a small number of lucky people selected to help us play inside to test the mechanics and systems of the game.”
“How many testers will you have?” Brandon asked.
“Ten thousand,” Thorn said.
“Are you kidding me?” Brandon’s eyebrows raised at the thought of so many individuals inside a VR program. “What’s the population of the Sim at any given time?” he asked, “a few hundred?”
Thorn grinned, “Two hundred thousand.”
Brandon was stunned.
“Officially,” Thorn said, “there are only three thousand players inside the Sim. I’m counting all the NPC’s inside as well. Each non-player character is considered an individual by the computer.”
“But they aren’t real,” Brandon said.
Thorn laughed out loud, and Brandon smiled at the humour behind his comment.
“The NPC programs have evolved like bacterium over the eight years that the Sim has been online,” Thorn said. “We’ve instilled artificial intelligence into them and allowed NPC programs to live complete lifetimes. They have also been given the capacity to procreate, passing on their learning and traits to their offspring. Plus they have the ability to bond with each other and form relationships. In many respects, they are identical to us.”
“You mean there are generations of NPC’s inside the Sim that have lived and died and had families?” Brandon wasn’t sure exactly what Thorn was saying to him, but it sounded complicated.
“Yes,” Thorn nodded. “When you walk through a city in the Sim to play a game, the population exists before you get there and after you leave. If you stop to buy a newspaper at a store, or to eat at a restaurant inside the Sim, those NPC avatars are living their lives and you’re just another customer in their day to day existence.”
Brandon looked at Thorn seriously. “You’ve created a real world, full of thousands of real people.”
Thorn began to shake his head, then paused and nodded as he shrugged his shoulders. “Yes, I guess you could argue that’s what I’ve done. Unlike the real world, however, I could turn it all off and wipe them out with the flick of one switch.”
Brandon decided to let this issue go. “What do you want us to do?” he asked.
“We now know from our experience in the Sim that we can populate a virtual world with realistic and richly interactive NPCs and accommodate a large number of player controlled avatars as well. What I need is experienced eyes and ears — veteran players inside the new world. I want to send groups of Sim players in to observe and give me feedback so that we can catch glitches and make improvements to the game before it goes fully live.”
Brandon thought about it for a few moments. “Sounds boring,” he said.
Thorn chuckled and shook his head. “It will be far from boring, my boy,” he said. “There is a main area where the players and NPCs will be able to to interact and live, but there will also be a lot of player created areas — small islands, dimensions, and instances that subscribers will be able to buy, where they will be able to create their own content. It’s my hope that these designers will attract other players to come mingle and interact.”
“You’re going to have people pay you to create their own adventures and rewards?” Brandon asked.
“In many cases, yes,” Thorn smiled.
“Sounds like a powerful idea. Hackers will have a blast with it.”
“There’ll be very strict and specific rules governing the core functioning of the simulation,” Thorn said. “That will keep it manageable and as simple as can be. But people don’t like simple. They can’t wait to complicate things, which we will allow them to do. The best designers will thrive, and the bad o
nes will disappear.” Thorn smiled wickedly, “Hackers will regret trying to tamper with the system.”
Brandon thought about it for a few moments, then nodded. “Sure, we’ll give it a spin.”
Thorn smiled. “That’s great news. Before I put you into the Beta test I have one other new simulation that I want you to try for me. It’s identical to the new game world in most ways, but very different in one aspect.”
Brandon shook his head, looking puzzled. He was quick and adaptable, but Thorn seemed to be throwing many things at him today. “You want us to play in a new VR simulation, but before we do that, you want us to play in… a different new VR simulation?”
“Exactly. I want to put you and your team into a new simulation for three weeks. No coming out or going back in, you’ll be in there solidly for three weeks.”
“Are you going to try to Blurr us?” Brandon asked with concern. “I don’t want to find out you’ve been switching us back and forth.”
Thorn shook his head. “I don’t agree with Blurring, Brandon, that’s the General’s project. This isn’t his VR I’m putting you in, it will be mine. I won’t try to Blurr you, I promise.”
Brandon looked uncertain and Thorn could tell that he was doubtful.
“Listen to me carefully, son,” Thorn said. “Until now the only VR simulation that you’ve been in is the General’s Sim. That’s because all of you belong to him, and that’s the only VR program that I was given money and time to work on. I’ve learned valuable information from developing the Sim to his specifications over the years, and now I have enough money, experience, and time, to build my own programs. I don’t have the same agenda that the General does, and I promise not to try to purposefully Blurr you.”
Brandon thought about what Thorn was saying. “How will you be able to place us in other simulations without the General knowing?” he asked.
“The General has made false assumptions over the years. He doesn’t understand that I control the game facility, and although he sees a lot of information, he sees only what I allow him to see. I’ve made the process so complicated and full of information that it’s easy for me to lose players for a few weeks at a time. It’s quite simple, since I can show them to him in simulations and deliver false reports that he can’t verify.”
Brandon nodded thoughtfully.
“Here’s the major difference with the new simulation I want to put you in. Your avatar will age and you will only have a vague memory of this reality. Time will pass differently; you’ll live thirty years during the three weeks that you’re inside.”
“What?”
“That’s right,” Thorn nodded. “You’ll go in as you are now. You’ll live for what feels like thirty years. Your body will grow and age, and you’ll gain the life experience from thirty years of living. Then you’ll come out of the simulation and wake up with thirty years of memories, but you’ll still be inside your body as it looks now, and only three weeks will have passed.”
Brandon considered what Thorn was asking him and his group to do. “Why would you do something like that?” he asked.
“There are many reasons,” Thorn said. “Maybe when you come back you’ll be able to give me some of them. It’s an incredible opportunity to become experienced but keep your youth. Trust me, Brandon, if someone had offered this to me at your age, I would have jumped at the chance.”
Brandon thought about the offer. “All right, Father. I’ll ask my Hand if they want to try it. If they say yes, then we’ll do it.”
Thorn nodded. “You’re not the first group to do it, if that makes you feel any better. Cooper has already done this process three times.”
“So he’s a thirty-something-year-old man with ninety extra years of memories and experiences?” Brandon asked.
“Yes.”
“Well, that gives him a big head start on me,” Brandon said. “What do you call this new VR simulation which the public will be playing in? Sim 2?”
Thorn shook his head. “I don’t want it named after anything the General has had a hand in. The new simulation is called Tygon.”
Chapter 49
“This seat taken?”
I look up from reading my paper and smile.
“You’re starting to tick me off, Cooper.”
He slides into the seat across from me and flashes his familiar grin. Reaching across the table, he grabs a piece of muffin with one hand and pops it into his mouth. With his other hand he deftly snatches my coffee cup and takes a sip before putting it down in front of him. He looks the same as always, tanned face, white teeth, piercing eyes, and that white shock of hair standing up on his head. There’s a smell about him, too, kind of like vanilla and candy apples. That combination should be strange, but it's pleasant.
“Why’s that, boy?” he asks.
“Because you haven’t aged. How old are you now?”
He looks down at his watch and smirks. “Here? I’m twenty-five minutes old.” He taps his head. “Up here I’m about a hundred and ten.” Then he points into the air and waves his finger around. “In the Dream, still holding at thirty-five.” He takes another sip of coffee and makes a motion of wiping sweat from his brow. “Whew, that’s a lot of different ages to keep track of.”
I grab my coffee out of his hand and take a drink. “I’m older than you now.” I try to keep the disappointment from my voice, but getting old isn’t fun.
Cooper waves his hand dismissively. “Somewhere in there, yeah, you’re older than me, but I think if we were to total it all up I’m still your elder, boy.” He takes the coffee from my hand again and places it deliberately in front of himself. “So show some proper respect.”
I chuckle and shake my head. I love it when Cooper shows up. He makes things exciting, and it’s also a good sign that something significant is about to happen. “So what are you doing here, old man?” I ask.
“It’s time for you to head back,” he says with a wink.
“Thank God,” I say.
Cooper chuckles. “God. You’ve bought into that story here, have you?” he asks.
“It’s just a saying,” I say with a shrug.
“Yeah, well there’s always something happening that can’t be explained, and our minds try to find a reason.”
We sit for a moment, listening to the sounds of the coffee shop around us.
“Where are the others?” he asks.
“Gathering intel,” I say.
Cooper squints at me. “Are you all still close?”
I look at him with a flat stare. “Thirty years is a long time to be together,” I say.
He looks at me and drains the rest of the coffee. “That’s not an answer, Brandon.”
I flash him a smile. “Of course we’re still close,” I assure him. “There have been some bumps and hiccups along the way, but we’re tight. Are you telling me you don’t know this? I’m sure you’ve watched us from time to time.”
“What about life? How’s it been?”
I don’t know how to answer him, so I just let it come out. “When I got here, I was twelve years old. I’ve lived thirty years in here. It’s been a long play.”
“Try it four times,” Cooper snorted.
“I don’t know if I could,” I say. “I don’t think I can.”
Cooper stands up and moves his chair closer to mine. He puts his hand on my shoulder and gives it a squeeze. Then he taps my chest lightly. “I told them you were too young for this.” He looks angry, but he shakes his head and smiles. “You’re right, boy, I’ve been following you this whole time, and you’ve been amazing. All of you have been incredible. I’m proud of you, and don’t worry, you won’t have to do this again. At least not for a few ‘real’ years.”
I laugh at his choice of words. “You’ve done this enough to know that these years are very real.”
He nods thoughtfully, then stands up and claps me on the back. “Okay then, sport, time to get back to reality. I’ll send you off, then go find the others.”
&
nbsp; I get up and follow him out the front door. He walks quickly and I hustle to keep up with him, turning into an alley and stopping halfway in.
He turns around and gives me a serious look. “Okay, let’s get this over with. C’ya on the other side.”
I frown in confusion, not sure how I’m going to leave the simulation from this alley. Cooper pulls a gun from within his jacket and fires it at me. My reflexes kick in and I manage to dodge the first two bullets, moving towards him as I avoid them, but his third and fourth shots hit me. I flop to the ground and look at Cooper in surprise.
“Why did you shoot me?” I whisper.
He shakes his head in annoyance. “Sorry, Brandon,” he says, “but this is the only way to get you out. It’s not pleasant, but I’m trying to make it quick. You’re still spry and quick for a forty-something-year-old.”
“I try,” I smile. The pain is intense, but familiar. Years ago, when I was a kid, living in another place, I got killed many times in the Sim. I cough and wince, spitting blood as Cooper gets closer. “Come on, old man, finish me off, then. I’m gonna ask Thorn to find a better way to exit these simulations.”
Cooper nods, pointing the gun at my head. “Good luck with that. I’ve asked him for the same thing, kid.”
I nod and close my eyes. I hear the gun blast and then I’m gone.
Chapter 50
“Haven’t seen you in a few weeks, Brandon. How ya been?”
Brandon glanced to his left as Carl joined him in the hallway. “Some crazy games, Carl. Thought for sure I would have seen you in them.”
“They kept me busy in mostly stealth games,” Carl said. “A lot of single missions where I have to infiltrate and kill lots of targets.”
“How are things?” Brandon asked.
“Not bad,” Carl said. “It’s good to be out of the Sim for a rest, though. I was in there last session for a long time. Everyone needs the Dream once in a while.”
Interlude-Brandon (The Game is Life) Page 17
