“We’ll be doing the six month test,” Marysue said from her place next to Gerald. “We’ve met already, but in the excitement it’s easy to forget. I’m Marysue. In game I’m a healer and also an officer of the guild.”
“I’m an officer as well,” Karen added, “I’ll be opting in for six months.”
“I’m also an officer,” Fluff added in her normal soft tone, which only those nearest her heard.
“Fluff here is also one of our officers, as she stated,” Gerald repeated for those who hadn’t heard. “Alburet, our leader, will be waiting in game to welcome you all. We’ll get invitations issued to you all as quickly as we can. If anyone ever has any issue with a fellow guild mate, the matter should be brought to an officer. We’ll do our best to help resolve the problem.”
“Why is he the leader?” A redhead amazon, whose tag read Bloodmoon, asked with challenging eyes.
“He created the guild,” Karen replied. “Along with me and Fluff. Marysue and Gerald joined us once they had been confirmed for the test.”
“Not great qualifications,” Bloodmoon snorted. “At least Gerald was here to meet us. We should promote him to leader.”
“No,” Gerald cut in simply. “Alburet, while at times being difficult to deal with, is the guild leader. This is not open to discussion. One of my jobs as second is to help quell dissention. I will not abide talk of a guild rift already.”
Bloodmoon shrugged, “Whatever. Can we go get in line now?”
The mass moved as a group and took up the end of the line, chatting as they waited. Fluff and Karen took their spots at the very end of the line. The line moved forward at a steady pace as people were directed to follow nurses in groups of three.
Marysue, Fluff and Karen stuck together and were led toward a room by a female nurse. Gerald was with DrBone and one other, following a male nurse down another hall. Gerald gave a tight smile to Marysue, who beamed back at him before they split.
The nurse led them to a room with a slew of medical equipment and three of the advanced pods they’d seen in the conference room. The nurse got them started with the paperwork for the extended immersion while she performed the final medical exams. She also pointed out the two phones and computer terminals, in case any of them needed to make further arrangements.
Karen and Marysue stripped quickly as the nurse got machines ready. Fluff hesitated, then finally began to slowly strip as well. Fluff was down to her undergarments by the time the others finished undressing. She was soon the center of attention from the other two.
Fluff’s skin was pale and smooth from head to toe, unmarked by any visible blemish or ink. Marysue frowned as her eyes raked over Fluff, “That is so unfair. I’ve spent so much to look as good as I do and she looks like a living doll with no effort at all.”
Fluff went crimson and turned away from Marysue, “I’m sorry. I know I don’t look right.”
Karen took two steps over to Fluff and patted her shoulder, “She didn’t mean anything bad, Fluff. She’s just a touch jealous, and who wouldn’t be? Come on. You need to finish for the medical exams.”
Marysue eyed Fluff for a minute as she recalled Gerald’s earlier words, her face going hard. “Fluff,” Marysue asked, her voice gone cold, “are you interested in Gerald?”
Fluff rapidly shook her head, not looking at Marysue, “No. I… I… like Alburet, but he’s married now.” The blush that had started in her face had by now crept halfway down her chest.
“Oh.” Marysue smiled sheepishly, “I’m sorry for my comment.”
Karen rolled her eyes, “He would say yes, Marysue.”
Marysue spun on Karen, “What?”
“Gerald. He would say yes. He’s afraid you’ll say no, so he won’t ask. He claimed you refused him once before.”
“We were eight! Of course I said no. Dad would have had a meltdown. Besides, how do you know? He’s never given me any sign that he wants to.”
Karen rolled her eyes. “Has he ever gone after another woman? Has he always been glued to your side? Get a clue-by-four already and thump it on your head.”
Blinking, Marysue just stood there as she considered Karen’s words. “But… why hasn’t he…”
“Fear, plain and simple. He wants to be with you and is afraid you’ll make him leave if he steps wrong. For the next six months, we’ll be in Alpha World and no one can interfere with you two. So, maybe take the time to grab him and shake some sense into him,” Karen smiled as she finished the paperwork.
Karen went to Fluff, “You okay?”
Fluff nodded, “I’m fine...” She was breathing a touch fast and not looking at anything but the floor.
“Fluff, look at me please,” Karen asked.
When their eyes met Karen smiled and gently rubbed a hand through Fluff’s hair where her ears would be in game. “Your eyes are amazing, please don’t hide them so much. It’s me and Marysue here with you. Everything is okay.”
Fluff gulped, her cheeks heating as she kept her eyes on Karen’s smiling face, “I’ll try.”
“Good girl,” Karen broke eye contact to look back at Marysue. “Now we just jump through the hoops and then boom, back to Alpha World.”
“Yes,” the excitement in Fluff’s voice was plain, causing Karen to smile.
Chapter Three
Seamus smiled at David through the glass dividing them in the visiting room. “It’s good to see you David. How’s Kaylee doing?”
“She’s at home,” David replied with a strained smile. His face was creased with new lines from all the stress he had endured over the last year. “I was surprised at how fast your trial went.”
“I waived a lot of procedures to make things easier on the system,” Seamus replied. “Has Kaylee started catching back up on her school work? Has she drawn anything?” Seamus’ voice faltered as David’s smile vanished, replaced with a grimace of pain. “She hasn’t written back to me, David. Does she hate me?” Seamus finally asked after a moment of silence.
David looked down, shaking his head, his voice filled with grief, “She doesn’t hate you, Seamus. She would never hate you, you know that.”
“Then why doesn’t she write me?” Seamus’ voice cracked. “I just want to communicate with her. I killed the guy who hurt her, is she ashamed of me for doing that? Just tell me why?”
David got to his feet, tears streaming down his face, “I’m sorry, my friend. I can’t.” He fled the room leaving Seamus looking at the empty seat where his friend had just been.
“Why?” Seamus asked the air, his own tears falling.
Tears still fell from Seamus’s eyes, but now he was seated across from Victoria. She looked at him with concern. “Seamus, are you okay?” she asked, leaning forward in the chair across from him.
He scrubbed at his eyes as he choked back the remembered grief. His hands shook with anger and sorrow as he tried to control his own emotions. He hit the desk hard and hissed at the pain as he struggled to control himself. After a few minutes, he finally had control of himself again. “I don’t want to remember that again, okay, Vicky? That still hurts to recall. It was the second time he came to see me. He never came again.”
Victoria nodded, “I’m sorry for causing you pain today, Seamus. After all, today should be a happy one. Your guildmates are going to be joining you tomorrow.”
Seamus closed his eyes for a few moments as he finally got his mind centered. When he opened them again he had achieved a small bit of peace, “Yeah, it should be fun. I wonder how they’re doing with recruiting others?”
“Would you like to see?” Victoria asked.
“Can I?”
Victoria snapped her fingers and a series of screens appeared behind her on the wall. The view was two people setting t-shirts out on a couple of tables in a massive lobby. “There are the two early birds, Gerald and Marysue. The shirts look rather nice.”
“Yeah,” Seamus chuckled as he watched them. His eyes flickered to a new person who was crossing to the duo
from an elevator. “Alvin?”
“Correct,” Victoria replied as she watched Seamus watch the screens. “You probably didn’t know that he’s been the public face of Alpha World since its earliest days. He still hates losing at chess, though.” The words held a hint of humor.
“So, you still play chess with him?” Seamus asked as he watched Gerald and Alvin talk.
“Every morning when he gets to work, and each night before he leaves. He refuses to give up. It is rather charming in a way.”
“Yeah, he always did hate it when he was out-maneuvered. Pretty much his only flaw that I knew of. How has he been?”
“Busy. He’s shouldered a lot of work over the last two years. He was one of the major driving forces behind Alpha World being released to the public.” Her voice held a touch of pride for her friend, “He has been very pleasant to work with.”
“Who’s the art director?” Seamus asked as he watched the next person show up a bit later.
“Why?” Victoria asked, her head canted to one side.
“I wonder who should be thanked for getting Fluff on board with the team.”
Victoria chuckled, “Ah, a married man asking about another woman. Luckily for you Stacia doesn’t feel jealousy.”
“Tell me about it. She keeps trying to get me to form a harem,” Seamus sighed. “She might be a little sex crazed, but I love her all the same.”
Victoria’s voice shifted, her tone becoming serious. “I’m afraid I have some bad news.”
Seamus sat bolt upright, his eyes going to Victoria’s, “What?”
“Since the large-scale long term tests have gotten up and running faster than anticipated, some of the conditions of your participation will be changing. We won’t be getting together every month.” She looked away from him, radiating contrition.
“I’m being pulled from Alpha World?” Seamus felt his heart start to pound, fearful that he was going to lose another person he loved. In his mind’s eye, he saw Kaylee in the hospital bed, her face turned away from him. It shifted to Stacia on a bed crying alone over the fact he was gone.
Victoria stared into his eyes intently, watching his reactions, “No. Originally, you were to be removed from immersion once a month so that we could test your physical and mental condition over the course of long-term immersion. With the changes to our testing program, that is no longer necessary. You will still visit me any time the game servers are taken off-line, though.”
He released the breath he hadn’t been aware he was holding in a long exhalation. “You fucking scared me, Vicky,” Seamus said, looking away from her. “Why did you build it up like that?”
“I wanted to see how you reacted to the idea of a loved one being taken from you,” Victoria replied, a touch of remorse in her voice. “I do apologize, I am still gathering data on your mental condition.”
“Why do you always push me like this? Do you hate me or something?” Seamus asked after a moment of silence.
“No. I am fascinated by you, actually. Alvin told me about you shortly after your case hit the news. He followed the trial every day, even when he worked. He still feels bad about the way you were treated. We would talk about you every morning and evening when we played chess. You did something I can’t fully understand. Revenge is a powerful emotion that seems to be able to sway people more than most others.”
Seamus looked at the screens as more people began to trickle into the lobby. “Justice,” he said softly, “all I wanted was justice. I knew he wouldn’t get real justice, not with the system of laws we have in place, so I gave him the justice he deserved. Maybe I was wrong to do what I did, but I will not apologize for it and I would do it all over again.”
“Alvin made it possible for me to study the human psyche after we started talking about you. I took all the necessary courses to become a psychiatrist. I actually was able to get diplomas from a couple of universities, from online classes of course. When you were chosen for the preliminary long-term immersion test, it was decided that I would be your contact. And that brings us to here and now. Have you enjoyed Alpha World?”
“Vicky, it’s truly amazing” Seamus replied watching the screens. “It’s so lifelike. The AIs are able to emulate life to such a degree that it’s impossible to tell the difference. You guys could easily set up virtual worlds where life matters. A game world so real, it could surpass what we experience now. One character and only one life unless someone can resurrect you, where every player and NPC alike are constrained by the same rules. Make sure everything can be learned, which means a crafting system so people can just hammer iron all day if they want. Or maybe they want to weave a tapestry so poignant that it gets them elevated to a king’s court.”
Victoria watched him with sparkling eyes, “Would you play that game if you had the option?”
He shook his head, “No. I would have to leave behind Stacia for that, and I can’t see myself doing that. Besides, at the moment I want to see the tech for the pods advance to the point where Kaylee can play, so I can see her again. Her, David, Stacia and me could go on adventures together then.”
“What if you had to choose, Seamus?” Victoria asked her voice deadly serious. “What if you had to choose between being able to play in the same game with Kaylee, or staying in Alpha World with Stacia?”
His eyes snapped down from the screens to her, his face going white. “That’s a horrible choice, Vicky. Why would I ever make that choice? My daughter in all but blood or the woman I’ve grown to love? That’s the kind of sick choice a dictator asks a condemned prisoner to make.”
“You are correct. I’m sorry, it was unfair of me to ask,” she replied, looking away from him. “Did you wish to watch them until they go to take the medical exams?”
“Yes, please,” Seamus replied as he slowly looked away from her to the screens, his mind still picking at the question that had no right answer. He couldn’t pick between two people he loved, that would be like asking a parent to pick a favorite child.
“I’ll leave you be for a bit, then. Enjoy the soda and snacks until I return.” A tray of refreshments appeared on the desk as Victoria got to her feet. She walked to the door as Seamus kept his eyes on the screens. “One more thing,” she said, then paused until he turned to look at her. “If you could have it all, the more realistic game and all your friends and family with you, would you play it then?”
“Of course,” Seamus replied.
“I’ll be back after the presentation. I’ll turn the sound on for you,” Victoria left him alone in the office to watch people gathering to make history.
She returned just as the final groups went down the hall to the medical exam areas. “Did you enjoy watching your friends and possible new recruits?”
Seamus rubbed his beard, “I’m really curious what Fluff looks like in real life now. Gerald and Karen both seemed pretty flabbergasted, though I couldn’t hear most of what they said when they met her. And when Fluff and Karen went off to the side to sit and talk I didn’t get to hear a lot of what was said, though they seemed to be getting along, which is nice.”
“We have most of a day still, and I’ve already stepped on your toes enough for one day, so what would you like to do?”
“I’ll need some sleep before the game goes back up. I want to be ready when they all start showing up. That still leaves time to kill though, so why don’t we play something together this time? There are a number of cooperative games I’m sure we could play.”
Victoria grinned and one of Seamus’ favorite cooperative games appeared on the desk between them. “Why don’t we solve a case together then? I will not be cheating in any way, shape or form, in order to make it challenging.”
“I love this game. But, you know that, right? You still cheat at the small things it seems,” Seamus chuckled, dealing out the cards and watching as the pieces for the game separated into piles. “I’ll be playing the main character, Harry. Who are you going to be?”
“Mouse. He is a protector
, after all,” Victoria grinned.
After several hours and several games, Victoria called a halt. “It is about time for you to rest, Seamus. I need to ask, have you been having nightmares in the game?”
“Yes,” Seamus shuddered slightly.
“We’ve noticed some spikes in your vitals during times you were sleeping. I hope they aren’t too bad until we can figure it out.”
“They get pretty bad, but I’m sure things will work out. Until we meet again, Vicky, have a good day.”
“You as well, Seamus. Give Stacia a hug and kiss for me.” His vision faded to darkness, the image of Victoria winking and smiling lingering as he found himself drifting to sleep.
Alpha Company (Alpha World Book 3) Page 3
