Kaizen Sanctuary (The Exoskeleton Codex Book 2)

by Sean Kennedy

  “Quickest way to start a fight anywhere bro, is to start talking about sim-rights,” Teeva said, “especially if they got fam on afterlife servers.”

  “I bet,” Jacob said.

  Majka went on, “When afterlife servers first came online there were many companies competing for the hosting market, uploading the copied consciousness of their users, and they were all somewhat similar until the Otherside came along.”

  “They had new afterlife servers?” Jacob asked.

  “No, they changed how they recorded the data,” Majka said, “The standard afterlife software would monitor the brain to make a copy, but the Otherside servers gave people direct control of what their respawn avatar could be, and that's what most think created the Plague.”

  Jacob shook his head, “I’m not sure...”

  “S’okay bro, it’s a lot to take in,” Teeva said.

  “Normal afterlife programs record you so you can be projected as you were, but the Otherside software records your peak performance and then uses that,,” Joni said. “The idea was, that if you had a really good day when you were thinking fast and in a good mood, the Otherside software would record that peak performance, so when you respawned your simtelligence would be able to operate as you would on your best day, forever.”

  “It’s human nature to try and enhance the self,” Majka said. “Once people realized they could record their brains, especially with boosters, it became about how far you could push and record the experience for your afterlife ghost.”

  The plague started as people wanting to be recorded better, stronger, and faster, but they drove their electric souls insane. They respawned as grossly unbalanced beings, like that faceless monster you just fought; driven by the dark side of the soul.”

  Slowly, it was starting to make sense to Jacob. “So, what happens to the Plague once the Online Rights Act passes?”

  “If it ever passes,” Butai interrupted.

  “Oh, it will pass one day bro, and then all these elite programs will outnumber us.”

  “There’s many ideas about what will happen,” Majka said, “but no one knows.”

  “Okay,” Jacob said. “So we fight the Plague in ...augmented reality?”

  “No not exactly,” Joni said, “Augmented reality is the bridge between the virtual world and the physical. The physical world has authority, so augmented reality can be customized by the physical user to allow or deny whatever they want in the augmented overlay. If we block a simtelligent being, they can't digitally interact with us at all in AR, and like ghosts they move among us unseen, only able to interact with other ghosts tied to the physical world. That’s why the plague is doing so much damage.”

  Jacob was confused, “"But you said afterlife ghosts couldn't interact with the physical world.”

  “No, they can’t,” Majka said, “but they can affect virtual worlds and their host servers.”

  “Virtual worlds,” Jacob whispered.

  “Yes, any free market realm can be visited by anyone, including the Plague,” Majka said.

  “Before, VR troll gangs could be stopped by a realm’s security forces,” Joni said, “but the Plague has the numbers to lay siege to whole realms until they are uneconomical, and then the Otherside network buys the whole domain for pennies on the dollar.”

  “So, the realm servers budget however much they can, and call for protection. We answer that call,” Majka finished.

  “This makes a lot more sense when you're in it, bro,” Teeva said, “it sounds complicated, but it's not. There’s virtual worlds on free market servers being invaded by these psycho’s, and no one will help them, so it’s up to us.”

  “But you said there was no combat in the market zones,” Jacob said.

  “Licensed market zones, and to be licensed they must be configured, monitored, and taxed by Immersion. Those that can afford it think the Plague is some overhyped drama, but one thing for sure is that simtelligent beings are being enslaved once the Otherside takes over.”

  “And we stop that,” Jacob said.

  “Exactly, but if you're coming with us, we’d better go now,” Butai said.

  “If you work out, we could bring you on future missions. The servers we support can’t afford to pay much, but we split it evenly.” Majka said and nodded to the wall where the plague simulation came through.

  The reconstructed paper panel slid over, revealing a cobblestone pathway weaving through the shade of a thousand vine flowers that hung over a cobblestone pathway. Small butterflies drifted amongst the brilliant colors, as the blossoms trembled in the warm breeze carrying the chimes of tiny silver bells.

  Teeva was at Jacob's shoulder, “It's cool bro, I’ll split my take with you, but it's gonna be a slow night.” Jacob could barely hear him over the lure of the mystical doorway.

  “Before we go across,” Majka said, reaching in to pull some fabric from her robes. She revealed itself to be a short gray cloak as she held it out to Jacob.

  “This will help you blend in,” she said with a smile as Majka gently wrapped the cloak around his shoulders. Jacob’s inventory opened in his HUD display, and he saw a prompt to accept a DCNC Cloak and authorization to wear it. Jacob thought yes to both, and the garment was shifted to his inventory and highlighted to show it was active.

  The cloak would be short on Majka, but it fell to Jacob's ankles, He reached through the side slits to flick the broad hood over his helmet. It came down past his nose, hiding his visor. The cloak clasp had an inscription of a hooded serpent breathing fire, with a stylized eight pointed star engraved upon it, and Jacob recognized the same decorated clasp on everyone’s garb as Majka stood back and looked at him.The cloak’s gray was slightly darker than his envirosuit, but close enough to match.

  “You're part of the Dragon Cobra Ninja Clan now bro!” Teeva slapped him on the back, and Jacob looked around the room at everyone's approval, even Butai’s.

  “You'll do for now,” Majka said, and turned to Teeva. “Stick close with him tonight, and remember Jacob, don't drop out or you’ll be offline for seven days.”

  “We got this!” Teeva said, nodding.

  Jacob felt his swelling excitement as he fell in step behind Majka and Butai, walking through the sliding gateway into the fantastical world beyond. Behind him, Joni and Kage followed as they stepped through.

  The light scent of flowers on the fresh, clean air was devoid of the ever-present oil stench of the zone. He turned to look back to see the dark wood paper frame floating in midair, a doorway to another dimension. It slid shut and vanished, leaving the cobblestone path stretching away down the shaded lane.

  “C’mon!” Teeva said, and Jacob fell in step with the group as Majka led them. The path curved to a slight crest over a lush hillside, with its short jade colored grass falling away to a dense forest. The ancient twisting trees, with trunks as thick as skyscrapers lined the forest edge as it swept down to a brilliant azure lake, sparkling under a cloudless sky.

  He couldn’t turn his head fast enough, the rich color, the beauty of the landscape; everything about this place was intoxicating. He desperately wanted to run ahead with his power-boks and explore, but resisted.

  There’s so much light here, Jacob thought. He now saw the butterflies were not insects, but tiny fairies fluttering among the blossoms. The sounds of lute music and the subtle flapping of banners echoed as they followed the winding cobblestones. Over the hill, a market fair of medieval tents, brightly colored with ornate tassels, came into view.

  Jacob saw the unmistakable movements of commerce around a central fountain as crowds shifted between tent shops and carts, disappearing and reappearing as they transitioned between various private networks.

  “Stay close,” Joni said, and Jacob picked up his pace again, keeping next to Teeva as they walked. Other pathways joined theirs, combining into a river of cobblestone flowing into the majesty of the fair.

  Each tent’s opening showed and interior far bigger than its outside, w
ith all manners of fantastical goods. Games tables were set up, and cries of excited betting rose over soft music. Exotic birds in gilded cages, glistening armor, and swords, all hung beside the black billowing smoke of a blacksmith's tent. Long racks of clothing, capes, and cloaks reached far back into a tailor's tent next to it; and on it went; each fabric fortress more strange and fantastic than the last.

  Heroes and adventurers from all times and stories made up the crowd, as if all the characters in a library's books came to King Arthur's bazaar. Jacob saw a Victorian gentleman deep in conversation with an Elven maiden who wore an ornate buckskin dress. Next to them, a muscular man, whose lower torso was that of a giant serpent, explained the inner workings of some elaborate clockwork jewelry to a southern belle in a ball gown with angelic white wings folded on her back. Everything was polished, and he watched fantastical avatars pick through the various wares.

  Majka kept walking to the fountain's edge before turning to say, “Welcome to Galafynn Fair, Jacob.”

  The tall central fountain had a bronze dragon frozen in mid breath with cool water pouring from its jaws into the wide pool, the raised edge making a place for avatars to sit. By one the side, Jacob saw a group of soldiers who looked like they just came from desert wars, standing with rifles as they scanned the crowd.

  “I thought there were no guns here,” Jacob whispered to Teeva.

  “Oh, they exist bro, they’re just rare is all. Those dudes are 0perators from the Warscape, and a pretty heavy crew for this place too.” Teeva said, and Jacob didn’t like Teeva’s expression as he looked at them. He liked it even less when he saw the same dark gaze shared between Joni and Butai.

  Jacob was thankful for the cloak Majka had given him; he didn’t feel so out of place. He saw other cyborg avatars in robes, trying to blend with the fair's magical theme in keeping with proper netiquette.

  Butai and Kage sat on the edge of the fountain twitching their gaze as they searched their inventory. Majka's stayed watching the 0perators, and Jacob followed her gaze to where they stood.

  The 0perators all appeared in their late twenties, and both men and women were bulging with muscles and accented by tattoos. Each had various stages of hair growth, from long beards to wolfish goatees and pony tails, complementing their sculpted toughness under black shields, goggles, and helmet visor displays. Active camouflage clothing shifted colors as they stood near the stone fountain.

  Majka was watching the one bearded 0perator talk to a thin shimmering female apparition. Jacob thought it seemed odd that virtual reality avatars would need image representations, but before he could consider it for too long, she disappeared and reappeared in front of Majka.

  Her hair twisted up into an ornate braid, with the subtle sparkle of weaved jewels that caught the sun even as a ghostly image. The sharp collar of her gown cut into a plunging neckline, and the dress washed over her in lacework that faded as it fell, leaving her apparition floating like a haunting vision on a renaissance summer day.

  “Namaste, Dragon Cobra Ninja Clan,” she said to Majka, and they both bowed their heads.

  “Thank you, Galadriel, it is again an honor to defend your realm,” Majka said and turned back towards the 0perators, “there is quite a strong force here today.”

  Galadriel nodded. “We are very fortunate, the 0perators have been paying more attention to the plague. I fear that now even the Warscape is being threatened. Their squad is under the call sign Hangman, and will assist in defending the realm,” the apparition shrugged, “but you know how they get.”

  “Of course,” Majka said.

  “Thank you for your service to the realm. It's important that you know, we are not paying more for the 0perators, it is the same set contract for all.” Majka bowed her head as Galadriel went on, “Other teams have asked, so I wanted you to know. It’s a symptom of the times I suppose. Do you have any questions?”

  “Not at this time, but please know that we have an extra member of our team with us.” She looked again at the 0perators.

  “Indeed. Namaste, Dragon Cobra Ninja Clan.”

  “Namaste,” Majka replied, bowing as the apparition faded and Jacob saw Galadriel reappear to five figures skulking in the tent's shadows. He leaned over to Teeva, “This is her realm I guess?”

  “Nah,” she’s only staff bro, like us. Chances are she's not even makin’ what we are.”

  Jacob wasn’t sure what that meant. “How are we getting paid here exactly?”

  “You do learn quick!” Butai laughed.

  “Oh... No, I just want to understand...”

  Joni interrupted him, “Ignore Butai. Everyone is paid in different crypto-currency, depending on the realm. Galafynn uses lock-coin, it's one of the bigger currencies. It gets transferred to our accounts based on our activity in the realm. The local mods can review the Immersion logs to see exactly what happens in the realm and pay accordingly. It’s a strong motivator.”

  Jacob sat between Teeva and Joni on the stone lip of the fountain. The sensation of water spray from the fountain was cool through the fabric mixing with the smells of fresh food and the gentle sounds of the trade.

  “Do you believe what Galadriel said about the 0perators?” Butai asked Majka in a hushed tone.

  “I do,” Majka said. “The Plague is getting ever stronger.”

  “0perators usually don't care about any other realm but the Warscape, I wonder why they’re here,” Joni whispered.

  “Soft targets without guns; it's an easy way to build your rep,” Butai said.

  “I don't think so,” Majka said, “kills outside the Warscape do little for their reputation. No, I think there are fighting the Plague here, before it can reach the Warscape.”

  “What is the Warscape?” Jacob asked Teeva.

  “‘Member what I said about there usually being no guns bro?”

  Jacob nodded.

  “These are the guys from the Warscape bro, permadeath 0perators with registered real steel.”

  “Permadeath?” Jacob cocked his head

  “If you die in a free market realm like this one, the three-day penalties apply. Most of the hardcore Warscape servers are permadeath, that means you can never go back to their server if you die.”

  “Free market realms are the only frontiers left.” Majka said.

  “But why does the Plague want this place, or the Warscape?” Jacob looked over at the hardened mercenaries, “I can’t imagine the 0perators being worried about them too much.”

  “That's just it!” Joni said, “The rules that keep this place stable are the same ones the Plague are using to destroy it. See, to be accessible by Immersion on the public servers you have to be Immersion compliant, and that means the server has to follow certain rules of physics.”

  “Unless you're a technomancer,” Butai said.

  “Butai, don’t make this more complicated than it needs to be,” Joni sighed.

  “Like Toes?” Jacob asked.

  “Sort of, he’s a kind of technomancer,” Joni rolled her eyes, “but that's something else again, don’t worry about that right now.”

  Jacob nodded, “But why would the Plague attack this place?”

  “Control,” Majka said.

  “And that's why these soldiers are here? To stop them from coming after their...realm?”

  “Warscape Bro, it's called the Warscape,” Teeva said.

  “...and that's a different kind of realm,” Jacob said, looking for confirmation.

  “That's right,” Joni said.

  Jacob studied the 0perators. A few of them wore alpha exo-braces, older models designed for terran fighting.

  How do I know that? He thought.

  “Maybe we should go say hello?” Jacob offered,

  “Won’t do much good bro,” Teeva said, “0perators stick to themselves, they don't care too much for any other users. They know the Plague isn’t strong enough to attack the Warscape.”

  “...Yet!” Butai added.

  “No, not yet,”
Joni agreed, “but if the Warscape ever fell, it would be the end of Immersion.”

  “Because the Otherside network and their plague would just take over?” Jacob asked.

  “Now you're getting it,” Butai said.

  Jacob wanted to keep asking questions, but each one just created more, so he gave an awkward smile instead. Kage leaned over,“It will all make sense eventually, all you need to worry about is sticking close, and let your takrizatchi speak for you.”

  Jacob relaxed and returned to watching the crowds between the magical tents. A neon raver stood next to a human-wolf hybrid, as they admired the craftsmanship of an Elven vendor’s cloak.

  “We should get you some threads bro,” Teeva said, looking him up and down. “Maybe a little extra flair.”

  Jacob laughed as he looked at Teeva’s colorful attire. He’d mixed clothing across a few cultures; but he managed to pull it off.

  “I think I'm okay for right now,” Jacob said, “besides, I haven’t got any money.”

  “True, but lemme know if you see anything you like bro, I can spot you, no stress. Galafynn has good prices.”

  Jacob wondered how prices made any difference in virtual worlds, or even currency, but he decided not to ask. It was frustrating not knowing so much, but as he sat on the fountain, the questions slipped away as he listened to the music drifting over the splashing.

  His gaze found a few other groups, who looked perpetually uneasy as they stuck together. A cluster of six elven archers sat on the fountain’s edge, observing a gang of twelve barbarians who had just ridden into the square on large muscular horses, their hooves clacking against the cobblestone. Everyone's avatar looked better than real, the light striking them in such a way to always seem incredible.

  Jacob’s mind turned back to the job at hand, “If we're supposed to be protecting the realm, shouldn’t we be like... out patrolling of something?”

  “We're not the only ones protecting this place bro,” Teeva said, “this is one staging area, they can gate us wherever they need to if there is an attack.”