by Michael Ryan
“I’ll try,” he said. “I need a moment.” He closed his eyes. It was the best way to call up information, especially when chaos was filling an avatar’s vision.
The rest of the group protected him while he researched.
“I have it, but I need someone in a Hephaestus guild clan to help me with the–”
“Here,” said another soldier. “What do you need?”
“Can you craft a binding clay using the dust?”
“I have it. Go on!” the second soldier exclaimed.
“Transfer it to me.”
The crafting soldier added enchantment to the clay, which he’d formed into balls. He handed them to the group as fast as he could make them. “Shove these into the holes!”
“Will it work?” someone asked.
“The enchantment will bind the surfaces and seal the openings,” he answered. “But the best way to find out is to do it.”
“Make it happen,” Rohini ordered.
Once they squeezed the clay into the openings, the magic applied itself and caused the plugs to harden into a solid barrier.
Rohini returned to chopping up the dozens of existing snakes. The most powerful and fastest of them were the hardest to kill, and the stone floor had become slick with blood.
She chopped off the head of a ten-meter-long purple adder. +25XP!
Next, she destroyed a twelve-meter-long red adder with two heads. +50XP!
When the last of the snakes was killed, the stone throne in the center of the room returned to its original position. Coiled on the seat was a spitting cobra. Its first attack hit the princess. She screamed at the shocking pain caused by the venom.
Along with the cobra, miniature scorpions poured out from underneath the dwarf king’s stone monument. While the creatures were small and easily crushed, they were swift and capable of swarming up the legs of a victim. Rohini watched in vain, unable to strike back, as one of her soldiers fell from the stings delivered by hundreds of the tiny insects as they swarmed over his body and under his armor. He grasped at his face before he died, as if he wanted to pull the skin off his face.
The cobra spat at Rohini again while she was distracted. Its venom stung her, even through armor. Her health bar indicator dropped quickly.
She brought out a shield and dove away from the next shot of venom the cobra spat at her face.
“Princess! Pay attention or you’ll be next!” Ruthann shouted.
Rohini rolled, spun, and came to her knees with her shield in front of her. She blocked the next flying ball of poison, but in her evasion she picked up dozens of scorpions, which stung her over and over.
“Holy shit!” she screamed.
She dropped her shield to smash the stinging enemies with her bare hands, but that opened her up to a barrage of attacks from the cobra.
Her health bar moved below the fifty percent point.
“Guard me,” Kelty said to another soldier.
She dropped to her knees next to Rohini and applied healing herbs.
Meanwhile, Ruthann coordinated with two tanks to provide a shield against the cobra. The rest of the troop attacked it with swords, war hammers, and arrows.
“Quickly, eat these,” Kelty said to the princess. “They’ll provide an immunity.”
Rohini did so while using a short sword to scrape scorpions off her body.
Kelty stomped on them as they hit the ground, and eventually they killed the last of them.
“I’m warming up an enchantment to get your health back to a hundred percent.” Kelty sent healing power into the princess, and they returned to the attack.
“Quickly!” Rohini shouted. “Tanks, move in front of me, and bowmen, back off a little and range behind us. Try a variety of arrows, and let’s figure out how to kill this thing.”
Kelty commanded her pet to move in close to the cobra. It took some minor damage, but because of its venom resistance, it lost little HP in the exchange.
The volerat drew the attention of the snake, which allowed those concentrating on DPS to work. They quickly discovered brass-tipped arrows caused the most damage. They fired arrow after arrow, extinguishing their supply before switching to less powerful projectiles.
Rohini moved closer with her shield raised in front of her and hacked at the snake’s head with her saber.
The cobra slithered across the room, took a defensive position against the wall, and continued to spit venom.
Its firing rate and accuracy had dropped considerably since the start of the battle. The tanks were eventually able to get in a fair amount of hacks and slices as the cobra’s attack diminished.
The snake’s health bar dropped to under ten percent.
Rohini and two of her soldiers forced it against a half column that protruded from the stone wall and, using a pincer attack, were able to pin the mob.
They aimed their last strikes at its head.
The cobra succumbed to the onslaught. Its health bar hit zero. As it died, melting into a milky blue mist, the remaining scorpions withered to dust and crumbled into nothingness.
“Come on, RNG Jesus!” one of the soldiers shouted.
Rohini laughed. “I guess I’d better pray to Mama Cocha, and we’ll see whether an Inca goddess grants wishes too!”
+1000XP
Killed: Cobra Boss Level 10
Dropped: 100 bars of gold
Dropped: Emerald Green Adder Pet
Rohini retrieved her loot. Apparently, Mama Cocha was in a good mood after all. She inspected the pet.
Emerald Green Adder
Level 5
A reptile battle pet
Attack style: Biting. Will attack and kill other adders
“We need to move out,” Ruthann said. “Play with your loot later.”
“How do we get out of here?” someone said.
“We’re trapped, by the looks of it.”
Chapter Eleven
What is real? What is an illusion? Nobody knows, least of all me.
~ Vice-Dean Bold
Dale joined sixty new students in a large conference room. An upperclassman stood at the podium and leaned into the microphone. “Ladies and gentlemen, please give a warm welcome to Vice-Dean Bold.”
The students clapped.
“Good morning, students,” the vice-dean said. “I’ll make this short and to the point. Your lives will never be the same after today. Graduates of our programs have changed the world. Our alumni have won awards ranging from the Nobel Peace Prize to the X-Olympics, to every major gaming prize on the planet. We influence the entertainment industry and the military-industrial complex. Space programs across the globe use our systems for the training and development of their teams. Medical, biological sciences, disease prevention, and numerous other fields depend upon our models, our programming, and our hardware.
“I have no doubt that from among you we will see amazing things in the future. In a moment I’ll start a short presentation. Some of you will come to realize that your destiny is different than what you’ve planned. Ladies and gentlemen, good luck!”
The students cheered, and the vice-dean left the dais. A moment later a presentation began.
A knight on a horse in full medieval battle armor appeared. The mounted warrior carried a metal lance. The warhorse pawed its front hoof on what appeared to be grass and dirt.
Steam billowed from its nostrils.
The steed snorted and took a step backward.
A massive dragon appeared on the opposite side of the stage.
A voice of authority filled the room. “From the dawn of storytelling we have told stories of heroes’ journeys.”
Dale thought he recognized the voice; it sounded like a famous actor.
“The story of a knight and a dragon pitted in battle is ageless. We’ve created a way for our users to experience the excitement of this type of confrontation for themselves. The fear, the anxiety, and even the pain are realistic. Victory is sweet when it’s achieved by a challenger. Watch.”
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The horse charged.
The dragon leapt.
The fantasy scene played out in front of the students as if they were in an outdoor meadow watching a duel between mortal enemies. The sounds were real. Every detail of the set appeared authentic. Even the smells of the fight, the horse, the dragon, and the faint scent of eucalyptus trees were present.
Dale had watched realistic CGI since he was a child, and he had played games that were amazing in their realism, but the action playing out on the stage was on another level. In spite of knowing that he wasn’t in danger, he broke into a cold sweat.
His heart raced; his primal brain overrode his intellect.
The knight lowered his lance and plunged it into the dragon. Bright red blood gushed from its wound, and the scene froze.
Perfectly round orbs of blood hung above the grass as if they’d been painted on an invisible canvas.
A tall, muscular man walked across the stage. It was Tory Wells, the popular actor who’d narrated the scene. He walked in between the knight and the dragon, put his hands on the lance, and smiled.
“Students–”
He was interrupted by applause from the crowd.
“Students, please, sit. Thank you for the gracious welcome.”
The students sat and the applause died.
“I’m not actually here on this stage. In fact, I’m a hologram. Let me prove it.” He waved his hand.
The scene returned to life.
The dragon swatted away the lance, opened its mouth, and roared fire. The blaze consumed the knight and the horse, their remains turned into ash. The dragon rose above Tory Wells and ate him.
“You see, students,” Tory’s voice echoed in the room, “I wasn’t physically in the room. You were applauding a hologram in a presentation. What’s real and what isn’t is no longer something you can assume you know.”
The dragon walked to the front of the stage and ate a student who was sitting in the front row. Then the beast disappeared, and the vice-dean reappeared.
“Hello, students. Fantastic dragon, yes?” He took a step towards the crowd and spoke again. “No, don’t answer me. I’m a hologram, too. What’s really going to get you thinking is this question: was I physically here a few moments ago? Was that me giving you a welcome speech this morning? Or was it a vision of me? Perhaps I was still at home in bed? Maybe I was in Zurich? You’ll never know.”
He walked to the first row and raised his voice. “I’d like to remind you that everything is questionable. Everything. Life, death, the future. What is real? What is an illusion? Nobody knows, least of all me.”
And then he disappeared again.
The stage went black.
A knight appeared on a horse.
The horse breathed and stomped its feet.
A Tyrannosaurus rex appeared. It took three steps towards the knight, leaned forward, and bellowed. Dale felt his skin grow goose bumps. The cry of the beast fooled his primal brain again, and his subconscious reacted as if actual danger existed.
The scene froze, and Tory Wells appeared.
“I look pretty good for someone who was eaten by a dragon, do I not?” He walked to the edge of the stage and spread his arms. “This is not merely entertainment, students,” he declared. “I want you to remember something, one thing above all else, as you begin your studies. The future is not determined by fate and chance. The future is determined by the actions of people. The knight and the dragon is an old story. It’s a morality play, as ageless as men themselves. God and Satan. Good and evil. The T. rex represents a way of mixing up the familiar, making it more entertaining and exciting. But it’s not only for fun, students.”
Tory Wells paused and looked from left to right before continuing. “These constructs have a serious purpose, and I mean beyond playing Rhith World MMOs. The universe we live in is changing. Everything has evolved into something new, especially warfare. The world’s governments are currently negotiating a peace treaty. If ratified, it’ll be more significant than all the agreements ever passed combined.”
He paused for effect and then crossed his arms. “If passed, all future conflicts will take place in virtual reality.”
A buzz of excited voices filled the room.
“Hold on, please,” Tory Wells commanded. “I want you to consider the benefits. There will no longer be civilian casualties. Important infrastructure will remain intact. Instead of destroying the environment, war will only use a small amount of electricity. Best of all, the use of a construct will create a fair playing field for all sides. Large countries can no longer rely on their wealth and size to bully the small.”
During lunch, in the middle of the third day of orientation, Dale was interrupted by an announcement calling all new students to a special meeting.
“Anybody have an idea what this is about?” someone shouted from the end of the table.
“No idea,” another student answered.
“Probably nothing to get worked up about,” a female student said.
A freshman stood. “It’s going to be something governmental. I saw officials from the governor’s office and military police here this morning. It’ll be about the Nagant War, no doubt.”
“That’s a stupid rumor,” an older student said.
“It’s not!” the younger student claimed.
“No, it’s really stupid–”
“It’s a fucking video game,” a second, nervous-sounding underclassman said from across the table.
“Virtual reality Rhith Worlds are not video games,” Dale said a little too loudly. “They’re highly complex constructs that mimic–”
“Shut up, nerd boy,” one of the students said. “They’re games. Not reality. I’m so sick of you–”
“Don’t listen to her, man,” said yet another student. “The war is real, and the Nagant Monks are like gods from another world.”
Dale couldn’t tell if the student was mocking him or not.
“I thought we were exempt,” someone said. “From the war, I mean, or whatever, the volunteer program.”
“I thought so, too,” Dale agreed.
“It’s the government, man. Nobody’s ever exempt from anything,” the second female student pointed out. “You guys are children.”
Dale took the remainder of his lunch to the recycling chute and walked silently to the meeting room. His mood morphed from sour to outright rotten by the time he took his seat.
When the meeting started, Vice-Dean Bold introduced a major from the Earth United Defense Army.
The students clapped politely, but everyone in the room seemed anxious and expectant of bad news.
“Students,” the officer said in a clipped military tone, “my name is Major Blank. I’m the commander of recruitment for the state of Ohio. I serve under the auspices of the Earth United Defense Army, and at the pleasure of the President of the Unified States.”
The major glared over the crowd. “I’m here today to speak to you about your responsibilities and requirements under the law. Congress, in passing the Haight-Frank-Todd Emergency Bill, has ensured our citizens that nothing is more crucial than the safety of the American people, as well as the world. Your generation is being called upon to do your duty for your country.”
Dale felt like he was attending a funeral.
“I understand that you bright and outstanding students may be experiencing some apprehension right about now. I sympathize. You’ve started on a path to build a better future for yourselves. I want you to know that for that future to be possible for you, there must be a future for everyone. The Nagant War has begun. There’s no stopping it. There’s no backing out. There is no surrender.”
Dale felt a dull ache in the pit of his stomach.
At the official end of the school day, Dale discovered Brian sitting in the visitors’ room at the dorms.
“What are you doing here?” he asked.
“Hey, Dale,” Brian said. “I heard about the–”
“Hey, I thoug
ht you weren’t speaking to me anymore?”
“I’m over it. Sorry. I understand why you came here,” Brian answered.
“It’s a great school and an amazing opportunity,” Dale said. “Well, it was until a little while ago.”
Brian nodded his head. “Can we go somewhere and talk?”
“Sure.” Dale led him to his dorm room. They chatted about old times, avoiding the subject they both knew had brought Brian to the campus.
“It’s coming,” Brian said.
“I know.”
“You’re not happy about it.”
“Of course not.”
“I begin trials in two days.” Brian sounded confident. Overly confident.
“Good luck,” Dale said.
“Thank you. But I wanted to ask you something. That’s why I’m here.”
“Okay, go ahead,” Dale said.
“The Troth haven’t contacted you, have they?”
“Why would you ask that?” Dale said. “You think I’m in contact with terrorists? Are you trying to get me in trouble?”
“They go after the brightest of the bright, and I know you. You’re not only a great gamer and programmer, you have skills that aren’t easy to obtain.”
“So?” Dale grunted.
“They know you’ve got skills the army wants, and they also know, I’m sure, that you’re not happy about getting drafted–”
“Who says I’m being drafted?”
“You haven’t turned on the news in the last few hours, have you? It’s what’s going to happen; there’s no doubt.”
“You don’t know–”
“I’m sure of it. And, I’m also sure the Troth have you on their radar–”
“Well, I’m not joining a hackers’–”
“Even white hat–”
“They’re not white–”
“Okay, gray, but still–”
“I’m still not joining them,” Dale stated forcefully. “If you keep bringing them up, you’re going to have to leave.”
“People can read message boards, Dale. You know – even between the lines. And some of the conversations we’ve been in…”
“What are you saying?” Dale asked, obviously irritated.
