“Tell Brandon that my boss wants a meeting. With Gabriel, preferably.” I pause and add an additional bit to the message, not something I was told, but something I feel like adding. “He wants you there, too.”
She looks at me. “Who’s Brandon?” she asks.
I bark out a quick laugh, but it’s plain from the look on her face that she has no idea who Brandon is. “He’s your boss,” I say.
She looks confused. “On Earth? I don’t recall ever meeting a Brandon.”
I shake my head. “What the hell are those two teaching you? Lady, if you want to really play this Game, you have to learn who the players are.”
“I know the players,” she says. “Is that it?”
I turn around and wave my hand. “Yes, that’s it for now. Have Brandon contact Ezra and arrange the meeting. It has to be soon. You got it?”
Her lips purse together. She takes the gemstone necklace I handed her and puts it on. “I’ve got it. Are you going to be there, too?” she asks.
I start to walk towards the front door, but I look back to gaze at her one more time. My intuition is burning out a warning. I don’t care though. I’ll figure it out, or I won’t. “Yes, I’ll be there too,” I say. “It was good to meet you finally, darlin’.”
“I’m going to kill you, Carl.” I’ve heard that a lot over the years, but she does sound very confident.
I chuckle. “Okay, then. Once again, best of luck with that. See you in a few days. Don’t ruin this nice friendship we’ve started by making me angry when we meet next, okay?”
“Carl.” Something in her tone makes me stop and turn around. It’s almost as if she has the power to compel me to stop and look her straight in her strange white and silver swirling eyes. She smiles; it’s like looking into a mirror. Pure, powerful hatred streams out of her. “Don’t worry, I won’t do it soon. You’re going to suffer a long time before I kill you.”
I turn and walk out the door. Crossing the street, I can’t help but wonder. Is she the one? Have I finally found someone who can put me down?
I begin to whistle.
This could be fun.
Chapter 24
We’re very excited to begin broadcasting Trew live to all our viewers. If you happened to subscribe to Trew when he was inside the Game, you’re in luck. As a special offer, we are giving you a free preview of this new channel for one day. If you like what you see, then please hurry to subscribe for the remainder of Danielle’s play. We aren’t exactly sure what we will be able to show you; there are many aspects of Trew’s day that we won’t be allowed to witness. I’ve spent just a small amount of time with him so far, and let me tell you, folks, you’re going to want to subscribe. Every moment spent with him is magical. It’s like Trew stepped out of the Game and now walks Tygon. He might look a bit younger, but the leader we all fell in love with is definitely among us.”
Lisa Rohansen, new host of the Trew reality channel
“Come in and grab a seat,” Brandon said. Trew entered Brandon’s office and plopped down into a leather chair. He looked very tired.
“Can I grab you something to drink?” Brandon asked.
Trew shook his head.
“What’s the problem?” Brandon asked.
“I’m feeling overwhelmed,” he said.
“How so?”
“The time difference. It’s screwing me up. So many things need to be done in order to help Danni in the Game. I need to talk with her, plan activities with the Eternals, talk with Sylvia more, before I can even begin to decide how to ask her for help. Then there’s the crew following me around and putting it on a new channel — that was a bad idea, by the way. There isn’t enough time to get anything done. Simply talking with you now only takes a few moments, but inside the Game, weeks have gone by.”
“Yes, it’s frustrating,” Brandon said.
“It’s maddening.” Trew shook his head. “This is a much different way to play the Game, and I don’t think there’s time to learn the ropes.”
“You have access to some of the best players in the Game, both inside and out. Your team and Danielle’s team are all in place and doing hundreds of things to help ease our burden. Don’t try to do this all alone; leave many of the activities to the others. As for the things that only you can do, we’ll assist you in making the time to accomplish them. I can help you, my boy. First of all, take a deep breath and relax. You’ve only been awake for a little over a day.”
“I want to spend all of my time talking with Danni,” Trew said. His eyes conveyed how much he missed her. He had just finished talking with her for the first time, and Brandon was prepared for this reaction.
“I can make that decision easy for you: it’s not possible,” Brandon said. “Think about it, Trew. If you spoke with her for a full day here, she would age over a year in the Game during that time. Somehow the process that we’ve developed warps time for both us and the player so that we can communicate. I don’t know exactly how it’s done, but the process can only be achieved and maintained for small periods of time, fifteen minutes every hour on Tygon, to be exact. We can make sure it’s a part of your routine to speak with her, but it can’t become an obsession that devours all of your time.”
“But she misses me,” Trew said. “and I miss her.”
“Stop it,” Brandon said. “I understand what you’re feeling, Trew, but you can’t get caught up in this pity party. In just a few weeks she’s going to be gone. Forever. We need to figure out how we want to move forward before the Game ends. You’re better than this. Snap out of it.”
Trew sat up straight as if he’d just been slapped in the face. His eyes focused on Brandon and he nodded slowly. “All right.”
“I know how you feel, Trew.” Brandon said. “You’ve just lived a full lifetime, then died traumatically, and now just a couple of days later, you’re back in this body and being asked to do an overwhelming number of crucially important tasks. I think you’re doing incredibly well and I’m proud of you.”
“Thanks.”
“I’m serious. The average player comes out and gets to rest and relax for weeks, doing nothing, so that they can reintegrate into society and slowly let their new experiences merge with their psyche, but we’ve had to skip that process for you this time. It appeared you were able to handle this kind of pressure, but perhaps it’s too much for you. You didn’t look like you were remotely close to cracking. Are you now?”
Trew sat forward and furrowed his brow, slowly shaking his head. “No, I’m not cracking. I just feel like I have a million things that need to be done all at once, and all within the next ten minutes. But that’s nothing new; we all experience that kind of overwhelmed feeling at times. I know that it’s time for triage, and some things are going to be left on the side of the road to take care of themselves. It’s just not a good feeling.”
“No, it’s not,” Brandon agreed. “But it’s the price we pay for having control and power.”
“I know,” Trew said.
“No, you don’t,” Brandon replied. “For the past thirty years I’ve been responsible for the growth and prosperity of our entire
planet. Let me assure you that where we all sit today didn’t come without extreme sacrifices.”
Brandon stood up and went to the window. “Many have suffered, millions live in poverty and misery, just so the rest of us can have normal, happy lives. Countless children don’t have what it takes to stay in the Game until they are 18, and trust me, Trew, they don’t go to very nice places to live out the remainder of their lives.”
“What do you mean?” Trew asked. He’d never really thought about where the kids that dropped out of the Game went. He knew they didn’t have access to the same status and jobs, but he didn’t have a clue what happened to them. There were government-run schools and facilities; surely they must be looked after there.
Brandon shook his head. “It doesn’t matter right now. I’m telling you that if you want to play the Game, really make a diff
erence in the world, then there are significant costs involved. I can help you
through this, Trew, better than anyone else. I have to know that you’re prepared to see it through to the end. I need to know that you are strong enough to sacrifice some things, in order to focus on the more important ones.”
Without hesitation, Trew nodded his head. “I am strong enough, Brandon. I can make the sacrifices necessary.”
Brandon looked at Trew. Then he nodded, walked back to his desk, and sat down.
“Good,” he said. “Then tell me, what is your number one priority? If everything else crumbles and must die along the way, including me, you, and the entire world we live in, what is the one thing that simply must happen?”
Trew’s eyes sparkled with passion. He’d entered the office overwhelmed and confused, but Brandon had helped him simplify things. He had convinced him that it was not only possible, but in fact crucial, to focus on one outcome above all others.
“My number one priority is to bring Danielle safely out of the Game, alive and healthy.”
Brandon looked at Trew sadly. “We’ve been assured that it’s impossible to accomplish that, Trew. Pick something else. Something that’s actually achievable.”
“That’s what I pick,” Trew said. “It can be done. It will be done.”
Brandon looked at Trew silently. After a time, he nodded.
“Okay, then. Let’s begin.”
Chapter 25
Words and truth follow the basic laws of physics. For every truth there is a contradicting lie. If you search for the truth with an open mind, looking at both sides of the story to form your own opinion, you will soon become so confused that you’ll believe anything.
Too much information can be just as dangerous and useless as too little. So what’s the strategy? Do we remain ignorantly blissful, or tirelessly seek out the truth at every opportunity?
There is a quote regarding money that goes like this… “I have been poor, and I have been rich. I don’t know that either has made me happy, but I preferred being sad and rich over sad and poor.”
Knowledge is a form of wealth.
I will chase the truth.
George R. Knight - The Game Is Life
“Hello, Father."
“Son.”
“You sound in good spirits today,” Brandon said.
“You sound tired.”
“It’s a busy time here.”
“Indeed.” There was a pause. “He is risen,” Brandon’s father said.
“Praise be to him,” Brandon said.
There was a chuckle at the other end of the line. “This is splendid. I’m almost speechless at the miracle that has visited Tygon and allowed Zack to return from oblivion.”
“He goes by Trew now, Father. ”
“Perfect! Was that your idea?”
Brandon smiled. “No, it was his.”
“I’m feeling something that I haven’t felt in quite some time, my boy. Help me put my finger on it.”
Brandon laughed out loud. “I would not presume to know what that might be. I’m stuck at the thought of you admitting to having any type of feelings.”
“Hope,” his father said. “For the first time in quite a while, I feel hope.”
“Things remain positive, but that’s nothing new.”
“If you’re telling me that this is exactly how you planned for things to progress, I will have to dispute that.”
“Enough of this, we don't have hours to chat and theorize,” Brandon said. “What do you have to say?”
There was a brief pause; if Brandon didn’t know better, he would swear that his father was hurt. Brandon didn’t care. He’d been hurt too many times to count.
“I called to say how well you’re doing. So well, in fact, that it’s time to go ahead with the next phase.”
Brandon nodded. “I’m already on it. The meeting happens in just a couple of hours. Everything will go as I outlined in the plan.”
“Good luck, son.”
Brandon didn’t know what to say to that.
So he said nothing, and disconnected the call.
Chapter 26
As a fan of the Game for decades, as well as a professional commentator, I feel very qualified to make this statement:
Most players are a disappointment.
There are almost two billion kids playing the Game at any given time, but how many have a channel? A few hundred thousand.
Of those who have their own channels, how many have a significant following? A few thousand.
Of those who have a significant following, how many are superstars? That’s right, just a few hundred.
The sad but accurate truth is that most kids go into the Game and quickly become mediocre. They do nothing of consequence, and the consequence of that is that no one bothers to follow them.
But this is a secondary issue.
The important thing to understand is that the average player enters the Game and wastes their play. Then they come out, scrape together enough credits to give it another try, and promptly waste their next play.
Some will defend them and say it’s not really their fault, because they don’t remember that they’re playing a game; perhaps if they did, they would play better. I don’t disagree, but what happens when they graduate and begin to live in the real world? They should learn how to be aggressive and assertive when they are young so they can bring that experience and attitude to real life, where it really counts.
Wasn’t the point of this system to have them learn? Seems to me that most don’t manage to ever get a clue.
Honestly, millions of players could exit the Game and no one would notice their absence.
Jim King, Game commentator
Trew entered the office and sat down.
It felt strange for him to come in and see dozens of people on his team scurrying around as the monitors displayed stats and Game feed on the walls. At the moment, everyone was busy on the other side of the glass. It was only Brandon, Angelica, and Trew in the middle office.
Brandon pushed a button and the windows darkened, giving them complete privacy from the outside world, then sat down and took a sip from his mug. On the main monitor, Danielle and Gabriel got out of a car and walked towards a large office tower in the downtown district. It was 3 PM in the Game, 4 AM on Tygon.
“Gabriel has his directions?” Angelica asked. She was as cool as ever, her hands cupping a coffee mug and watching the monitor as the two entered the building. She looked at Trew, winked, and flashed an encouraging grin.
“He knows what to say,” Brandon said. “I’ve been in touch with Daniel, too, and he knows his part as well.”
“You speak to them both?” Trew asked.
“Of course,” Brandon smiled.
“But I thought they were on totally opposite sides,” Trew said.
“They are,” Brandon agreed. “But they both answer to the same boss, ultimately. Me.”
“Then why are they meeting? If you call the shots for both sides, there should be no need for this meeting.”
“It’s complicated,” Brandon said. “Daniel answers to me, but there is one other who can sometimes convince him to override my orders.”
“The Devil — you’re calling him Daniel,” Trew paused and waited for Brandon to nod affirmatively, “answers to you, but there are times when someone else can convince him to ignore your orders. Is that what you’re saying?”
“Sounds shady when you put it that way, doesn’t it?” Angelica asked. Brandon looked at her out of the corner of his eye and she suppressed a grin. He looked back at Trew and sighed.
“Yes, that’s how it goes. This meeting is primarily for both sides to talk with each other, so they know I have spoken to all involved and my directions are clear. The secondary purpose is to allow Gabriel an opportunity to gauge Daniel’s mood and determine if he might decide to disobey me and go speak with the other who sometimes influences his decisions.”
“Who’s that?” Tr
ew asked.
“Angelica…?” Brandon nodded.
Angelica laughed. “I have no idea who it is.” Brandon looked at her sourly and she returned his gaze. “You told me there is another inside the Game who has been there since it was framed out in basic code. He’s the one that Daniel will sometimes listen to, when he makes an appearance.” She looked at Trew. “I have no idea who it is or what he’s called. I bug Brandon for answers and this is all he’s ever told me.”
“That’s all either of you need to know.” Brandon said. “The real purpose of this meeting is to formally declare intent and direction on the part of both sides. This is a significant project inside the Game; everyone involved has to be clear that the orders are authentic. Now let’s sit quietly and watch. The meeting is about to start.”
“Daniel and Danielle…” Angelica muttered. "Could get confusing.”
Brandon rolled his eyes but said nothing. Trew smiled and focused on the main viewer.
***
Danielle
“He will see you now,” The secretary says. Gabriel, Carl, and I stand and follow her into a massive boardroom. Two sides of the room are composed of floor-to-ceiling glass, displaying an awesome view of the city. When Gabriel explained who we were meeting I expected somewhere underground, a dark room with greasy candles burning and blood on the walls. It looks like the Devil is doing well for himself, sitting
in the biggest office at the top of the largest building in the city. I guess it’s not that surprising, considering how corrupt the corporate world is.
A man calls out to us from the corner. “Gabriel, how good to see you again. May I pour you a drink? We’ve stocked your favourite.”
There he is, the Devil himself. I know they call him Daniel — the Devil is just his title. I’m not calling him Daniel.
He’s standing in the corner holding up a crystal glass of light blue fluorescent liquid. He’s as tall as Gabriel, six foot two inches, dressed in an immaculate black tailored suit. Diamonds flash from his cufflinks and a ring is prominent on his right ring finger. His hair is short and black; his face is tanned and rather handsome. His eyes sparkle with red flecks, like Carl’s. His face displays a carefree smile, while his relaxed manner projects a vast confidence. He’s looking directly at Gabriel, and it appears from his demeanour that he actually likes my companion.
Digital Heretic (The Game is Life) Page 9
