“There's commando teams,” Karen suggested.
“I don't think they'll do much good,” Nora said. “We don't have an accurate photo picture of the city.”
What information they did possess had been gathered by Raven Flight. They had made high speed passes over the city, but the photos they returned with were often blurry or completely useless. Nora wished that they could use their photo reconnaissance aircraft like they had in Indianapolis, but there was no airbase for them to operate out of this far north.
“Night raids might work,” Liz said. Even if we can disrupt just a few spots, those few spots are enough to get our troops on shore. Once that happens, it's anyone's game.”
“I should probably leave that up to you guys, then,” Nora said. “You'll be the ones preparing the raiding groups.”
“You'll be a part of them soon enough,” Anna said. “I'm going to try to have Hoplite Platoon transferred to the north as soon as the ship is ready to sail again. We'll definitely need you guys for the attack on Green Bay.”
“Thanks,” Nora said.
But her mind was troubled. Was her unhappiness so transparent that people could sense it over a distance, without seeing body language or facial expressions?
Why am I getting so worked up about some stupid game, she asked herself. And that's what it boiled down to. It wasn't her life, no matter how much she absorbed from it. It was a virtual world, a stupid collection of 1s and 0s. So why was it exerting such a pull on her?
CHAPTER 9
Gilded Age
“So you're concerned about what the virtual reality's doing to our brains?” Selene asked.
“A bit, yes,” Nora admitted.
“Glad I'm not the only one,” Miko commented.
“It's not just her,” Zach added. “I've thought about it as well, even if it was just a little.”
“Huh, that doesn't make me feel so bad, then,” Danny said as well. “What, you haven't thought about it, even a little?”
Selene shrugged and munched on a fry. The five of them had decided to meet up at a diner for lunch, since there wasn't much going on in the virtual world today.
“Don't tell me you haven't thought about it,” Miko said.
“I'd think she would, living with you,” Danny agreed.
“OK, maybe a little,” Selene admitted. “But so what?”
“What are you thinking about?” Nora asked curiously.
Selene ate another fry before continuing. “OK, it's usually about the social aspect of the game. I mean, we're part of this huge organization, but we barely know many of the people in it.”
“Doesn't that happen everywhere?” Zach asked.
“Well, yeah. But in some ways it just strikes me as weird. I don't know why.”
“Maybe it's just a part of the game,” Danny said. “We're not going to know everybody or everyone. We're just going to have our best adventures with the people we know. We seem to be doing that a lot with Redd Foxx and Raven.”
“I did it with Barghest, too,” Nora said. “I'd imagine that you feel the same way.”
“Yeah, and it's really not that big of a deal,” Selene answered. “I can have fun with any group, as long as I'm in the thick of things. But having a group you know and trust makes things a whole lot better, in my opinion.”
“Can't disagree with that,” Danny said.
“I'm a bit more concerned with how the virtual world is starting to seep into the real one,” Nora said. “We spent the time before the last interview session going over a plan, just like we would in the virtual world.”
“That's not anything new,” Zach said. “That's just metagaming. It's been around forever.”
“Yeah, but that's only the most obvious creep. What about the motor skills we seem to be learning? For some reason, that just weirds me out a bit.”
“Again, glad I'm not the only one,” Miko said.
Selene looked over at her. “So wait, you're worried about the virtual world overwriting your personality, or something like that? Like all the pundits claiming video games are brainwashing machines?”
“Those idiots still exist?” Danny asked.
“Unfortunately, yes, I've seen them,” Selene told him. “You'd think they'd have died off after a century, along with the people claiming the earth was flat.”
“Got to have something to blame for all the world's troubles,” Miko said with considerable scorn.
Nora took a bite of her sandwich before answering. “Well, I'm not in that boat. With the brainwashing, anyhow. But I wonder. I've said in the past that our avatars in the game are given life and soul by our real world selves. But I wonder if our avatars are pushing something back out at us.”
“Like what?” Danny asked.
“I'm not really sure,” Nora admitted. “Or maybe I'm really off base here.”
Danny frowned. “Maybe not. Are you thinking of something like becoming the mask?”
“Uh, how exactly are you defining that?”
“It's playing a part, like acting, but it's becoming so involved in the part that it becomes your persona,” Danny explained.
“That's a pretty scary thought,” Miko commented.
“Is that really possible?” Zach asked. “I mean, there's a barrier between reality and fiction, in my opinion. And we can tell the difference, no matter how real the fiction is.”
“So we can compartmentalize, is what you're saying,” Danny said.
Zach nodded. “Exactly.”
Selene thought for a moment. “Still, there might be some times when that idea might go screwy. Like, people act differently online than in real life. That's just a fact.”
“The ODE theory?” Danny said.
“Yeah, that,” Selene said. “A lot of people act a lot more viciously when they can hide behind anonymity and a screen.”
“You can't really do that inside World at War, though,” Zach pointed out. “Everyone has a face, and everyone can find out who you are.”
“Well, maybe it applies to other things. Like, you can be a dynamic leader in the virtual world when you're just someone who fades into the background in the real world.”
Zach laughed. “Wow, thanks for the vote of confidence there.”
“I wasn't talking about you,” Selene said.
“Nice to know.”
“So you're saying that your personality in the virtual world is all just a sham, is that it?” Nora asked.
“I don't think it's just in World at War, either. I mean, just look at the social media sites. You only put out the parts you want everyone to see. You could be suicidal and miserable, and everyone could think that you're happy because that's all you put out for them to see.”
“That's not restricted to the internet,” Danny said. “you can do that in the real world as well.”
“But there's the human element in the real world as well,” Selene said. “I can read your body language or hear the tone of your voice in the real world, and if I know you well I can pick up differences. You can't do that hiding behind a screen.”
“But you can in a virtual reality,” Zach said.
“Like you said, you might be able to separate the two,” Selene said.
Miko spoke up. “So, is it because you're missing the human part of the equation?”
“Hmm?”
“That whole problem with wanting to be with your comrades in the game. Is it because you're missing the human interaction with the people you're playing with?”
“I'm sorry, but I'm still not quite understanding what you're saying.”
Miko paused for a moment. “OK, then how about this? You said that your interaction with people on the net is missing something because you can't read their body language, or hear their tone of voice. Maybe it's because you're missing the human element in all of it. Like, you're in an imitation that seems like it's a community, but it's really not because every person in it is putting up a front.”
“So, all online communities are l
acking something?” Zach said. “That's a rather drastic statement to make.”
“It probably is,” Miko shrugged.
“Or maybe it's not about them being bad,” Danny said. “I mean, I would have never met a bunch of people I like without the internet. And there is a community there. But maybe it's a lower form of community.”
“Lower form?” Nora asked. “I'm sure a lot of people would appreciate that commented,” she said with some sarcasm.
“I'm not saying that it's bad,” Danny said. “Heck, I think it's great. But I think that having people you connect with in real life just means something more.”
“Might have been true fifty years ago,” Nora said. “But is it when we have virtual realities?”
“No, I see his point,” Selene said. “Why do people play board games, when they can play video games online with each other? I think it's because they need to have the face-to-face interaction with each other in the real world.”
“That's probably why we play basketball so much,” Zach said.
“It sure isn't because of your skills,” Danny ribbed him.
“I'm sorry, which one of us lost the last game?” Zach retorted.
“Well, that and the fact that it keeps us in shape,” Nora said.
Selene frowned. “OK, maybe we need the real world because we can get a genuine sense of the people we're interacting with. We can make judgments based on our own senses, instead of relying on what's offered to us.”
“That might or might not be fake,” Danny pointed out. “Like I said, you can fake things in the real world as well.”
“Maybe it's because we think we can get a better sense of them, not because it's necessarily true,” Miko said.
Selene nodded. “That could be it.”
“Could be true as well.” Danny grinned. “And hey, I finally can talk about philosophy without people looking at me like I have two heads.”
“Your field has a bunch of disturbing implications,” Miko said.
“Can't help that,” Danny shrugged.
No, but they would linger, Selene thought. But enough about that. It was good to have a break from the virtual world.
They would be back in the thick of it, soon enough.
“Head in closer,” Selene ordered.
“Why do you insist on trying to get us killed?” Logan asked over the radio.
“This isn't a suicide mission,” Selene told him from the deck of her river craft. “We're just going to probe the defenses again. We have speed, we have agility, and we should have surprise. We'll be able to cut and run if anything goes wrong.”
“That's only if the enemy cooperates,” Logan said. “There's a whole mess of shore defenses located around eastern end of the harbor. Javy and Xavier spotted them yesterday when they were scouting.”
“They spotted them,” Selene agreed. “Now we need to find out how aggressive they are. Or would you prefer swimming ashore when we launch our attack?”
“We might be doing that in a few minutes,” Logan retorted. “OK, how are we going to play this?”
Selene smiled. That was one thing that could be said for her platoon. They might argue with her, but they were loyal to a fault, even in the face of certain death. It was her job to repay that loyalty back to them.
“Fast run, guns blazing,” Selene ordered. “Kick the hornet's nest, and then make a run for it. And don't get yourself killed.”
“Well, duh,” Logan said. His boat sped off toward the shore.
Ethan turned around to look at her from his position in the front of the boat. “How are we going to take out the defenses without getting close?”
“Artillery,” Selene told her. “The main gun of the ship, mostly.”
Ethan clicked his tongue. “That's going to be slow going, with just one gun. We could be hanging out here for hours.”
“Well, we don't have the full plan done yet,” Selene said. “We need the info we're gathering so we can make a decision.”
“The waiting process. Joy,” Ethan said.
“Hey, it's always worked for us,” Selene replied. “Would you have wanted to attack Lerna or Eagle Creek without all the info we gathered during the recon phase?”
“But we're good enough to make it up as we go along,” Ethan said. “We did it in Center City.”
“And we got very lucky,” Selene said, remembering Ghost Battalion's heavy losses during the fight.
“We got extremely unlucky, as well,” Ethan said.
“Never know when that might happen again, so it's best that we stay prepared.”
Ethan looked back out over the water. “We might be running out of time, though. That's all I'm saying.”
“Still no reason to go off half-cocked.”
“If we're not going to do it soon, we might as well be back at Lerna Bastion,” Ethan said. “You heard about Ragnarok trying to make another push south, right?”
“Yes,” Selene answered.
Knight Battalion had managed to stall the attack long enough for reinforcements to arrive, and Ragnarok had finally given up. Eventually they were going to succeed, though, especially if Hydra's reserves were engaged elsewhere. They needed another front to take the pressure off the south.
But still, they wouldn't get that front if they were annihilated in the first battle up here. So like it or not, they needed to do careful planning, as always.
“Alpha Wolf, we're in the harbor and closing,” Logan said over the radio.
“Copy that, and good luck.”
“At least they won't have anyone chasing them,” Ethan commented.
Selene nodded. “Yeah, and that might be the thing that tips this whole operation in our favor. We'd never be able to do an amphibious landing with that sitting in the harbor.”
Ethan nodded. “I'm not sure how we would even go about destroying it, if we came in from the land side. The only thing we have that could sink it is our field guns, and I don't think they're coming north anytime soon.”
“Random question. Do you think that this is the right decision?”
“What making probes from the harbor?” Ethan asked.
“No, this whole front. I just want to know what the lower levels of command think about this whole thing,” Selene said. “So, if you were in charge, would you have done things this way?”
Ethan scrunched up his face. “That's a tough question. I'm not sure I can answer that right now.”
“I'm not going to hold anything you say against you. Speak your mind. It doesn't help us if you just fall in line and sugarcoat every single one of your opinions.”
He nodded. “OK, I'll answer straight. Would I have done things this way? Probably not.”
“Why?” Selene asked.
“There's too many risks involved, and they'd worry me too much,” Ethan said. “How are we going to stay supplied once we're in the city, for one?”
“We have the ship. That can carry more than enough ammunition and supplies from the south,” Selene said. “We have the best logistics chain around, remember? We'll be perfectly fine.”
“The ship can be sunk, and then where are we?”
“Ragnarok has to find out about the ship,” Selene pointed out. “And that's going to be fairly difficult. Its port is behind our lines, and if it sails near the eastern end of the lake it's out of range of enemy aircraft.”
“But still, our lifeline is gone if something happens to it. Plus, who the heck is going to crew it?” Ethan asked. “That's going to take yet more troops we don't have.”
“Hephaestus and Raven are going to split some of the duties,” Selene told him. “Raven has sailing experience, and Hephaestus knows how to operate the machinery.”
“That's another problem. We're taking away resources from other fronts. Is that good, especially when we're nothing more than a glorified diversion?”
“We've gained some resources as well,” Selene countered. “Between Thorn and Myrmidon we have a hundred troops in the north that we neve
r would have known about otherwise. Who cares if they're not an official part of the alliance? They're here to fight Ragnarok.”
“We could have cooperated with Ronin. They have more troops,” Ethan said. “And they're in a much better strategic position right now.”
Selene frowned. “I'm not sure that I'd trust them to hold up their end of the deal.”
“Why not?”
“Because of Levi.”
Ethan shrugged. “He seems to be the type that's dead-set on holding up his end of any agreement. I don't see him as dishonest or a trickster.”
Selene agreed. “Neither do I, but there's other things that concern me. He seems to be focused too much on symbols, and not enough on the actual strategic situation.”
“Where'd you get than impression?”
Selene looked out over the water toward the south. “The whole debacle with Fort Odin and Fort Baldr. Taking them and trying to hold them was way too ambitious. They might be strong positions, but their alliance just doesn't have enough troops to hold them against a Ragnarok attack.”
“I can see why he did it, though. They need it for the supply corridor to Old Chicago,” Ethan pointed out.
“There's other ways to go,” Selene said. “Our corridor is safe right now, and despite some people's opinions of Ronin, I'd be willing to bet that the council would allow them to move supplies through our territory. But they won't ask for that.”
“And you think that there's a symbolic reason behind it?” Ethan asked.
Selene shrugged. “Well, just look at how it happened before. They took the forts before and hailed it as their greatest victory against Ragnarok. They thanked us for our support, and I'd expect that from them. But they also put their troops front and center. It was their victory, with a bit of help from Hydra.”
“Still not seeing the issue,” Ethan said. “Everyone needs something to put in their recruiting drives. And it's not like we have embellished our exploits a bit.”
“The issue is that I think they believe their own hype, to a certain point,” Selene told him. “And that's the problem. Ronin thinks it need to hold the forts because they're the symbol of its greatest victory against Ragnarok. But they don't see them as just a means to an end.”
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