by Dante Doom
"I'm in your base already, aren't I? The deal isn't changing, but I just really want to see her." Van was counting on the Emperor's unfamiliarity with human emotions to make up for the fact that he was a terrible actor. He wasn't even able to get up any fake tears.
"Very well," the Emperor said. "If we are to build a relationship, we will have to learn to trust each other. You may visit your matriarch and say your goodbyes."
"And another thing," Van asked, "can you just make them bring a car to me? I really don't want to go with your Draco stooges."
The Emperor growled a little. "That sounds suspicious to me."
"What the hell am I going to do? You have the power to just flip a switch and end mankind," Van said. "I just want a chance to drive alone for a bit, and say goodbye to my mom and grieve in private. Is that too much to ask for?"
"I suppose grief is a necessary part of being human," the Emperor said. "Or at least, that is what I have read. Fine. I will send for a car for you. Be as quick as you can. If it takes more than a week, I will destroy this planet."
"Four days, tops, I promise," Van said.
"Very well," the Emperor said. "Just note how much I'm willing to risk for your trust."
"Of course," Van said as he brought up the log-out screen. "And, thank you."
He logged out of the game and promptly climbed out of his chambers. This was going to be a pure work of art. He walked out into the lobby where Cindy was sitting. She was doing a crossword puzzle and looked to be positively bored out of her mind.
"What are you doing here?" Cindy asked. At that exact moment, a man appeared inside of the lobby holding some car keys. The man walked up to Van and gave him the keys.
"Oh, I was just going to run out real quick and grab some snacks," Van replied as he walked toward the exit to the base.
"You can't leave!" she said.
"I can do whatever I want," Van replied, "because I’m the star here. The Draco leadership said I can do whatever, so I'm going to drive to the nearest gas station I can find and get a frozen drink. Did you want anything? You probably haven't had anything decent in a long time."
Cindy's jaw was almost hanging to the floor in response to Van's words. He could see the pure contempt mixed with agony on her face. "They're… they're letting you go to a gas station?"
"Actually, they said I could do whatever, so they're letting me leave and I'm going to a gas station," Van corrected her. "But hey, don't worry about it. Anyway, I'll bring you a Snickers or something." And with that, he strolled out of the base. He chuckled to himself as he heard the torrent of screams and swears coming from behind him. This was perfect.
Van strolled up to his pod, slurping on his frozen beverage quite loudly. He glanced up to see Cindy standing by the mess hall. Her arms were crossed and she was shaking her head at him.
"You want some?" Van asked as he held his drink up to her. She didn't reply; she merely scowled at him. Van shrugged and tossed the drink behind him. "Whatever – I was just being friendly. Anyway, I've got some stuff to do in the game. Oh, and by the way, I brought you another crossword puzzle book; I left it on your desk. Hopefully, it'll last you another five years."
And with that, Van climbed back into his pod and activated it. He was immediately transported to the throne room again. The Emperor was talking to a few subordinates – creatures who were lizard folk like King Lemuel had been.
They all stopped talking as soon as Van appeared. The royal throne room was being restored rapidly, and Van watched as the workers repaired the walls with magical spells.
"You return so quickly," the Emperor said.
"Yeah, good news actually… I called my dad on a payphone at a gas station and found out it was a false alarm. Turns out she's doing just fine."
"And I suppose you find the fact that your mother is not dead to be a good thing, correct?" the Emperor asked. Van couldn't figure out if this was sarcasm or not.
"Yeah, it's good news to me. I love my mother," Van replied.
"I see," the Emperor said. He waved dismissively at the three lizard men, who all bowed and walked away from him. "I do not understand affections such as love. These things are unique to a human, I suppose."
"I guess," Van replied as he watched the lizard folk walk away. "Can you be real with me? Do you all look like that?"
"Yes," the Emperor said. "Our race is made up of what you would call Lizard Men."
"I guess those crazy conspiracies were right," Van muttered.
"Are you ready then, to stop wasting my time?" the Emperor asked. "We must go to the mothership and prepare you for the future."
"Of course," Van said. "Let's get going."
"This way," the Emperor said as he waved Van over to a small floating disk in the center of the room. "Stand atop this and it will take you to the ship."
Van nodded and climbed atop the disk. He felt it bob a little underneath his weight. The disk began to vibrate and pulse then, and he could feel a powerful sensation of energy wrapping around his legs. The hairs on the back of his neck began to stand up as the disk flew upwards at full speed.
"Whoa!" Van shouted as the disk rocketed through the ceiling of the castle. He expected to break through the wall, but instead he merely passed through. He was flying through the air, going straight up. He could feel the friction of gravity as it resisted his movement into space. Still, the disk continued moving upwards, unfettered by the laws of physics.
Soon Van found himself in space, moving toward the large mothership that was hidden by the moon. The mothership was enormous, almost half the size of earth. There were three large circular windows on the front of the ship and Van could see dozens of lizardmen working on the inside. He didn't have time to gaze at the sheer beauty of space, however, because the disk whisked him over to a window and promptly threw him into the ship.
The window opened up just in time for Van to sail through and land on the deck of the ship.
"Whoa, what a trip," Van said as he stood to his feet. The bridge of the ship was like that of an old navy movie that Van had used to watch all the time. There was a chair for the captain, along with dozens of consoles where people were working tirelessly. They were speaking to each other in their own language and no one paid Van any mind.
"Did you enjoy the view?" asked a familiar voice. Van turned around to see a Draco standing behind him. This Draco was wearing a military-type uniform, complete with hundreds of medals and badges upon his vest.
"Are you the Emperor?" Van asked.
"Indeed, I am," the Emperor replied as he gestured to his own body. "This is my true form. I rarely return to the ship, however. I prefer to lord over mankind more directly."
"I see," Van said as he looked around the ship. Hundreds of Draco were working in perfect synchronicity with one another. One Draco would report something to his ally and the other would immediately hand something over to him. They moved with efficiency and purpose.
"So what's your name then?" Van asked.
"I'm sorry?" the Emperor asked.
"Your name, what is it for real? I've just been calling you the Emperor."
"Ah, right, you humans love your names. You name everything. Even your names for species have meanings beyond simple function and purpose," the Emperor said. "They called me, before my ascension to Leader, Cleaner 39092. I suppose that was my name for all of my life."
Van wanted to laugh, but realized that the Emperor was dead serious. He shrugged. "Well, I’m not calling you that."
"You may call me whatever you wish," the Emperor said as he pointed to a door at the side of the ship. "But there are more pressing matters to attend to. Follow me."
Van followed after the Emperor, taking note of the layout of the ship. It was just as detailed as anything that he had seen inside of the game world below them.
"This ship is where all of our operations take place," the Emperor explained. "We always create one inside of the simulation so that we can work close to the game. We also use it
for discrediting the media, should news of our plans end up leaked into the real world. All Draco needs to do is release photos of the in-game ship, and all claims of us being aliens become a joke." He paused and looked around to make sure no one was standing nearby. They were in the middle of a long platform that led to dozens of different rooms.
"But, most importantly, I make sure the entire ship is in the simulation; that way, I have supreme control over their lives. At any minute, I could unplug these bastards. If they ever tried to come at me or get it in their heads that I'm a threat to the mission, things could turn ugly. So by convincing them to work inside of the simulation at all times, I'm shoring up my chances of success," the Emperor whispered.
"You seem very pleased with this strategy," Van said.
"And why shouldn't I be?" the Emperor laughed. "I'm the one who's at the top here. Me, a lowly and neglected creature rules over them all with an iron fist. You have yet to see just how despicable these beings truly are."
"You call them despicable, yet you're willing to enslave and destroy other cultures for your own glory? That sounds extremely hypocritical," Van said to the Emperor.
"Hah, I suppose you are right, it sounds terrible from the outside, but you must realize something, Van, the rest of the universe doesn't look at good and evil like you do. We simply call this survival."
"Yeah, I'm sure you do," Van said as he crossed his arms. "But that doesn't change what it actually is."
"Well, you'll have time to lecture me later," the Emperor said, "but right now, we need to get you acquainted with our simulations."
The Emperor led Van to a small room that contained a few silver pods. "Behold, righteous warrior, your chariot to glory," the Emperor said as he pointed to the pod.
"So you have simulation pods inside of simulation pods?" Van asked. "How is that possible?"
"These pods are insanely complicated and are capable of achieving anything that we want," the Emperor explained, "including creating sub-simulations. This pod will enable you to create your very own world and give it whatever you want. The time dilation is a little slower in there, however, so be warned. You will perceive seconds as decades."
"I see," Van said as he walked over to the pods. They were identical in every way to the pod he was currently occupying in the real world.
"So, you will be able to create a universe for our next targets to inhabit," the Emperor said. "Now, I warn you, it will take some time to get used to it, so your first universe is nothing more than a practice round. In your eyes, it will take you several hundred years to learn, but it will be nothing more than a few hours in real world time. Just prepare yourself mentally for the solitude. Now, we Draco run a little differently from you humans, so I'm unsure if it will have any long-term psychological effects on you. If you start to suffer from difficulty or pain, just log out and consult with me."
"Right, well, that sounds great and all," Van said as he looked at the pod. "But maybe it would be better if I had some kind of manual to read about this first?"
"No manual, Van," the Emperor said. "You'll have all of the time in the world to figure it out first-hand. Get on in and give it a whirl."
Van grimaced as he looked at the interior of the pod. He really didn't want to have to endure hundreds of years passing while he worked. It was going to be a surreal experience no matter what, and he wondered if he would go mad during the process. Still, there wasn't much he could do other than agree with the Emperor's demands. With a long, heavy sigh, Van climbed into the pod.
"Have fun in there," the Emperor said. "I look forward to seeing what you can create."
"Me, too," Van said as the pod slid shut over him. "Me, too."
Van opened his eyes and gasped loudly. He had been in the middle of raising a mountain from the land itself, using nothing more than his sheer force of will, and now he was back in his pod. He leaned up and glanced around, wide-eyed and exhausted. The room was spinning, but he recognized that he wasn't on the spaceship – he was in the real world.
"Oh, God," Van gasped. "I'm gonna be sick."
"Yeah, well, be sick later," Cindy said.
Van glanced up at her scowling face. The room was still spinning a little. He had been inside of the world creation simulation for several hours, which in his perception had translated into thousands of years. He had been alone for such a long time, he could barely remember how to interact with another person.
"Man, what the hell happened to you in there?" Cindy asked as she snapped her fingers in front of him. "You look like you're losing your mind."
"Mind…" Van whispered. Memories of the mission came flooding back to him as he looked at Cindy. He had been trying to manipulate her, to defeat the dragon. The memories of the world that he had been erecting from nothingness began to fade away as concerns of the real world returned to him. He didn't feel well at all.
"Well, here's the deal, pal," Cindy said as she grabbed Van by the arm and forced him out of his pod. He welcomed the assistance as he climbed out, bending over to catch his breath. "I just poisoned the entire security team and they're on the ground, completely comatose. We have maybe twenty minutes before Draco realizes no one's checking in and sends in the big guns to secure this place."
"You did all of that?" Van asked.
"Yeah," Cindy said. "Because I know you're up to something."
Van glanced over to where the security detail would normally have been standing. There was indeed a man lying on the ground and clutching his stomach. He was completely unconscious. This wasn't some kind of trick, from the looks of it.
"I don't know what you mean," Van said, just to be safe.
"Look, jackass," Cindy growled. "You're right on Draco. They keep changing their minds and you've done a good job of showing me just how fickle they are. I know you're hot stuff for a reason, so you've got to work with me here. How do we get out of here?"
"You really want to know?" Van asked, feeling a little smug that his plan had worked out. His mind was still trying to realize that his plan hadn't been formulated two millennia ago, though, but had instead been made earlier that morning. Despite how exhausting the process was, he was still able to think. "We need to get a USB drive plugged into my pod. The CIA set it up so it can help us engineer a virus that will stop the Draco for good."
"Really? I knew you were with some kind of government organization!" Cindy exclaimed. "Fine, I'll help you guys for one million dollars and full immunity for my crimes."
"Deal," Van said. He had no capacity to make such an arrangement, but he didn't mind getting her hopes up only to watch them be crushed later on. After all, she had been willing to sell out the human race, so she deserved a rude awakening.
They shook hands then, and Cindy was quick to pull the pod down and activate the debugging mode. Van placed his data stick into the port and watched as it clicked and activated. The little light on the side of the stick flashed rapidly as it began to work.
"What's it doing?" Cindy asked.
Van shrugged. "I have no idea," he replied. "They just told me to plug it into the system and they'd take care of the rest. Now close it, quick."
Cindy shut the pod back and deactivated the debug mode. The USB drive was now safe and sound on the inside of the pod. Van hoped that, whatever it was doing, it worked quickly.
"So what's the plan now?" Cindy asked.
Van grimaced. The plan for him was to climb back into the pod and get back to work before the Emperor realized that he'd been logged out for a brief period of time. The Draco security team would then show up and promptly kill Cindy, eliminating the only witness to his clever act. Still, was that fair? It might be what she deserved, but she had stuck out her neck to help Van.
"My suggestion is that you hide in one of these pods before the Draco squad shows up. No one knows it was you, right? That'll give me time to activate this program from the inside, and then you'll be perfectly safe."
"I was kind of hoping the plan was to escape or call the C
IA for help," Cindy asked.
"Well, that comes later in the plan," Van said. "Just trust me here."
"Fine," Cindy said as she walked up to one of the pods. "I'll hide in this one, but you better pull me out when you go to escape."
"Oh, don't worry," Van lied, "you're definitely my first priority." And with that, he logged back into the game in the hopes of being able to smooth things over with the Emperor, who no doubt would be furious with his sudden vanishing.
Untitled
Chapter Seventeen
"I'm calling it," Neil said as he looked at his computer. "He bailed on us. He lied to your face and bailed on us. Right now, as we speak, Van is living the high life and has completely forgotten about saving humanity for good."
"I'm sure he's just taking his time," Sang said as she looked at her computer. They were sitting in the computer lab where the operators normally worked. With such high-powered computers and a full team of hackers at Sang's disposal, all she needed was the schematics from Van. It was taking a long time, however, and she was starting to grow worried. A few monitors had noticed that his character had been popping on and offline several times within an eight-hour span, but other than that, there'd been no indication of how the mission was going or what he was doing. It might not even be Van who was logging on.
"Looks like you owe me money!" O'Hara shouted as she leapt up in her chair. "The tracker's going!"
"What?" Neil asked as he looked over at O'Hara's computer. Sang craned her neck to see that, indeed, the GPS tracker that they had installed into the data stick was working.
"Looks like he's somewhere in the desert," O'Hara said as she read the coordinates. "Just in the middle of the desert. From the looks of it, I'm not seeing any kind of buildings or anything."
"Maybe he's in some kind of a mobile lab," Sang offered. "Are we getting the data transmitted to us yet?"
