Virtual Prophet (The Game is Life)

by Schott, Terry

  “No problem,” Dani said. “There might be a quicker way.”

  Melissa leaned forward, anxious to hear what Dani was going to say.

  “The old man introduced me to a very promising new Colony member,”

  Melissa frowned. “Why do you still call him the ‘old man’?”

  “You have a better name for him?”

  “Yes, I do,” Melissa grinned. “We’ve started calling him Grandpa,”

  Danni laughed and then nodded. “He is old, and he brings us treats from time to time like a grandfather would.”

  “And it doesn’t sound cold and impersonal like calling him ‘old man’ does.”

  “There’s that, too,” Danni admitted. “Okay, Grandpa introduced me to a very interesting new member. His name is Thirteen, and he’s a genius when it comes to quantum mechanics and physics. I think he might be able to watch what you do and help break it down to help others learn more quickly.”

  Melissa nodded. “I’m certainly up for trying. If we could get just a few more of us birds into the air, life would be better.”

  “You know the old man —” Danni paused to correct herself, “Grandpa, I mean — can fly?”

  “No, I didn’t,” Melissa said. “Although I should have guessed he could, since he opens those portals so easily.”

  “What?” it was Dani’s turn to be surprised. “I had no idea he could do that!”

  “Looks like he keeps different secrets depending on who it is he’s spending time with. Is he still here?”

  Danni paused and stared into space for a moment before shaking her head. “I don’t sense him. That doesn’t mean he’s gone, though.”

  “When can I meet this Thirteen?” Melissa asked.

  “I’ll find him and arrange to introduce you,” Danni said.

  “It will be good to meet another number. I hope he’s as friendly as the other one.”

  “What do you mean?” Danni frowned her eyebrows in puzzlement.

  “Miranda,” Melissa said. “Wasn’t she called Three by that nutjob Shane when he captured her before the Day?”

  Danni stood up quickly and grabbed her jacket. “I’d totally forgotten about that. Come with me, quickly.”

  “We’re going to find Miranda, then hunt for Thirteen?” Melissa guessed.

  “Yes,” Danni said grimly. “Then we’re going to find out if Thirteen is here to help... or harm us.”

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Trew and Cooper sat beside each other and watched the live feed of the Game.

  Cooper had offered to let Trew watch it alone, but Trew simply shook his head and pulled up an extra chair. They’d sat down and tuned into the feed, eager to see what was occurring in the Game.

  Two hours passed.

  Finally Trew looked over at Cooper. “This isn’t what I was hoping it would be,” he said.

  “I agree,” Cooper said. “It keeps switching perspectives every few minutes. Is there no way to control who we’re viewing?”

  “I tried everything when we first started watching,” the frustration could be heard in Trew’s voice. “No matter what I do, the feed continues to switch to different players.”

  “Let’s talk about what we’re seeing,” Cooper suggested.

  “It’s a mess in there,” Trew shook his head. “Every view has been full of pain, fear, and misery. Most players are hiding in small groups, struggling just to find warmth, food, and shelter to get them through the next day. Maybe it’s better if people can’t watch what’s going on in there right now. I don’t know if the fans would tune in.”

  “You know they’d tune in,” Cooper said. “This is exactly the kind of thing they want to see.”

  “It shouldn’t be,” Trew said.

  “Yet it is.”

  The telephone rang, and both men looked towards it deliberately. Trew walked to it and pushed a button to answer it on speaker. There was a series of clicks and beeps, followed by a hollow popping noise.

  “Are you watching the feed?” Thorn asked.

  “Yes,” Trew said. “Although I’m not sure what we’re supposed to do with the information.”

  “It’s the best feed I could provide. I don’t intend for you to sit in front of it for days on end; that would accomplish nothing. The feed will go dead in two more hours, so sit and watch it until the signal fades.”

  “And then get back to work,” Cooper said.

  “Exactly,” Thorn agreed. “It’s bad in there, and it’s getting much worse as time goes on. Millions are going to die to meet the number Brandon set with the Timeless.”

  “Five hundred million?”

  “Yes,” Thorn said. “The Gamer culling took out about one million, one hundred fifty thousand, give or take. That leaves over three hundred fifty million more to be ejected; and that’s what’s happening with this event.”

  “Brandon wants to save as many of the children as he can,” Trew guessed. If they were caught inside the Game when Danni died, then they would die permanently on Tygon.

  “What?” Thorn sounded confused.

  “He wants to save as many lives as he can by ejecting them early,” Trew said again.

  “That doesn’t even make sense,” Thorn said. “What would he care for the lives of NPCs outside of the Game? He needs them to wake up inside the Game, to realize they are in a simulation and break free from it. Ejecting them from the Game and leaving them to sit on Tygon makes no sense for achieving the goal.”

  “He seemed to care for some of the NPCs,” Trew snapped. “Much more than you do, it sounds like.”

  Cooper shook his head and looked into the air. There was a moment of silence as Thorn understood that he wasn’t talking to Trew anymore; he was speaking with an NPC.

  “I’m sorry, Trew. I didn’t mean to sound cold or uncaring.”

  “It’s fine.” Trew cut him off. “I don’t think NPCs would have any care for you or your kind either if they learned the truth.”

  “Oh,” Thorn said. “I never thought I’d hear a phrase like that voiced.”

  “I can see why so many people were sent to the camps with very little remorse on Brandon’s part,” Trew said. “None of us are real to him, so he didn’t give it a thought when millions failed out of his project and were exiled to finish their days in pain, fear, and humiliation.”

  Thorn responded softly. The compassion in his voice was noticeable. “You’re right, he didn’t, and neither did I as I watched it. Most of the time, it was like working with bacteria in a lab. When one colony failed, we would dispose of it and work with a new batch. It’s no excuse, but we never imagined NPCs would become so... real.”

  Trew walked back to look at the monitor, as people — his people — struggled to survive. “This conversation is a waste of time,” he announced. “We will do what we were programmed to do. We’ll save our lives, and maybe show you how to save your own in the process.”

  “That’s the goal,” Thorn said.

  “Is he there?”

  “Who?”

  “Brandon. Is he with you right now, listening in on this?”

  Thorn paused. “No, he isn’t. Things are getting worse here, and he’s...”

  “I don’t care how bad it is there.” Trew cut him off. “Your problems don’t concern me.”

  Thorn was silent for a few moments. Trew watched the monitor intently as Cooper sat and observed him with an amused look on his face.

  “I’ll leave you alone for now,” Thorn said. “The monitor will go blank in two hours. Pay close attention to this last bit of time. You will start to see people familiar to you now. For small snippets.”

  Trew said nothing and watched the screen until he heard the speakerphone click and the line went dead. Cooper got up to end the call from this end.

  “This whole NPC thing is strange,” Trew said.

  Cooper laughed and nodded. “It sure is, boy. There was a time when all an NPC could do was stand in one spot and perform one simple task. Your race has caug
ht up to ours, it would seem, and my opinion of what you are has changed completely.”

  “How so?” Trew asked.

  “I can no longer discern any difference between you and me,” Cooper replied. “For me to say that... well, it’s a big deal.”

  Trew started to speak, but his eyes caught something on the monitor and his head spun back to the view screen. “Quiet,” he commanded.

  “I see her,” Cooper whispered.

  The two men sat silently for the remaining time, occasionally catching glimpses of Danni and her Colony.

  Exactly two hours later, the feed went dead.

  Cooper said nothing, staring first at the monitor, and then at Trew.

  Trew looked at the blank monitor. Another hour passed as they sat silently and considered the situation. Finally Trew stood up and nodded at Cooper.

  “I know what we need to do next,” he announced.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  “I don’t recognize him.”

  “Are you sure, Miranda? If you can remember anything, even the smallest detail, it could help us.”

  Miranda continued to look at the man sitting across the street and down the block. Danielle had chosen her base carefully; Cambridge was once three smaller towns that had grown over decades to become a single city, even though the three areas remained slightly distinctive. Three small urban centres separated by only a few miles and connected by a river made for a very pleasant living area, something that early settlers of the land had no doubt considered. Thirteen had moved into one of the areas and was doing his best to get settled in. It was challenging for an intellectual to fit into this new world where a strong back was required more than the ability to program a computer or conduct thought experiments.

  “He doesn’t look familiar, Danni,” Miranda shook her head again. “Most of my time spent in the Zoo was hazy. Maybe if Sparx were here, she would recall something...” Miranda still missed her nanocompanion and wondered if she had ceased to exist when the rest of technology stopped functioning. In her mind, Miranda told herself that it was still possible for Sparx to be operational. The nanocomputer’s composition and functioning resembled living cells more than it did computer technology. Most of the time she was optimistic that Sparx was out there somewhere, trying to find its way back to her.

  “Okay, thanks for trying. Come over and meet him with me; maybe he will remember you.”

  “Of course,” Miranda nodded, her gold-flecked eyes glittering in the morning light. When ‘the Day’ had occurred, Miranda’s eyes had changed from the Infernal crimson to the gold of the Eternals. Danni had been relieved to see the change; she hadn’t wanted to bring an Infernal with them on their journey, even if it was one that appeared to be friendly.

  Danni took a step into the street when she heard a raspy voice from behind her call out a greeting.

  “He’s safe, Danni. I would never bring a dangerous creature into your home.”

  Danni turned around and saw the old man leaning against a building. She wondered why he continued to wear garbage bags. Attempts to clothe him had proven futile; Danni had given up when she’d placed fresh clothes beside him while he was eating lunch and he’d used them to wipe his hands and mouth clean.

  “Good morning, Grandpa,” she smiled.

  “Grandpa?” he scowled as if tasting something sour. “Why on earth would you call me Grandpa? Save that vile title for someone old, if you please.” He nodded his head towards Raphael who stood a block down the street watching them casually. “Call that old fart Grandpa and see how well it goes over. I’m not that much older than him.” He paused to consider his statement, then he nodded confidently. “Okay, maybe in some places I’m older than him, but here I think he’s actually older than me.”

  He leaned into the street and waved his arms flamboyantly to get Raphael’s attention. “GOOD MORNING, GRANDPA!” he shouted. “OUT FOR A LITTLE WALK THIS MORNING?”

  Raphael tried to ignore the shouts, but those nearby began to look first down the street and then at him, smirking at the humor of the situation. After a moment Raphael looked skyward and moved to join Danielle.

  “Oh, look at him go!” the old man said, clapping his hands in delight. “He sure is spry for an old fella!”

  Raphael scowled at the old man as he reached them. “How many times is that you’ve blown my cover?” he asked.

  The old man raised his eyebrows and covered his face with his hands, pretending to be upset. “I’m insulted that you would accuse me of doing such a thing. If I blew your cover, then it was by accident, and this must be the first time it’s occurred.” He held up eight fingers to indicate the actual number of times, winking at Raphael playfully.

  “So what do you want us to call you?” Danni put a hand on Raphael’s shoulder. He chuckled at the old man’s antics and looked down the road to keep an eye on Thirteen.

  The old man shrugged. “Names have never much mattered to me. I’ve always liked the name Brandon — perhaps you would like to call me that?”

  In unison, everyone in the group snapped their heads to look at the old man.

  He saw their looks and laughed gently. “All right, fine,” he said. “Not a very funny joke, perhaps. The truth is, Danni, that I don’t really care what name you call me. ‘Old man’ fits me just fine. Once I’m gone, no one will remember me anyway.”

  “I want to know who you are,” Danni said.

  “So do I, dear,” He looked at her soberly, all traces of mischief gone from his eyes. “So do I.”

  He raised his hand and made a tight circular motion. A bright white doorway of light appeared in the alley behind them. “I have to head out for a while. You go have a chat with Thirteen and see what the two of you can come up with. He’s a very good boy, Danni. Please look after him.”

  Danni nodded and the old man walked towards the doorway.

  He paused at the entrance and looked at Stephanie, who had just joined the group. “Keep an eye on that one, Danni,” he said pointing towards Stephanie. You may think spending your entire life with someone counts for something, but to a Timeless, a few short decades doesn’t guarantee lifelong loyalty.” He stepped into the doorway and it faded from sight.

  Danni looked at Stephanie. Her eyes were sad and there were signs of tears on her cheeks. Before Danni could ask what the problem was, she looked closer and shook her head sadly. “Oh, no, Steph,” she groaned.

  “He’s wrong, Danni,” Stephanie sobbed. “I won’t ever betray you or Trew, I swear it.”

  Raphael reached out to touch Stephanie’s face and gently turned it towards him. “I’m sorry, sweet girl,” he said. “Your eyes are telling us that it’s time for you to leave.”

  Stephanie nodded and blinked away the tears. She took a step toward Danni with her arms extended to hug her, but Danni shook her head and stepped backwards defensively as her own eyes reflected the sadness of the group.

  The crimson flecks in Stephanie’s eyes flashed in anger at being denied a parting embrace, but she closed them and nodded in understanding.

  “Love you all,” she whispered. “I won’t let them use me against you, I promise.”

  Stephanie knelt quickly and exploded upwards into the sky. The group watched her go until she faded in the distance.

  Finally Danni broke the silence. “Is that a promise she can keep?” she asked.

  “No,” Raphael answered sadly. “She may be able to resist it for a while, but eventually a Timeless has to follow their eyes.”

  Danni pursed her lips and looked at the group grimly.

  “Then let’s hope she can resist until they turn gold again.”

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Two weeks later, Stephanie sat alone in front of a fire. It was a small blaze that she’d built for warmth, thirty feet from the main road. A rabbit roasted over the flames, and she warmed her hands as she waited patiently for her meal to finish cooking.

  Stephanie had flown far away from Danielle and her friends, not stopping u
ntil she was almost halfway around the world, somewhere in Russia. She’d covered a considerable distance during her flight, but had spotted no significant outposts or large groups of people along the way.

  Stephanie felt a slight disturbance in the energy field and raised her head to look into the nearby darkness. A Timeless approached her. She recognized the energy signature as it got closer, and she reached out with her hands to grab the rabbit from the spit to let it cool. “Just in time for a free meal. You never change, Daniel.”

  “Just my good fortune, darlin’,” the Devil chuckled from the edge of the firelight. “Is that your fancy way of inviting me to dinner, then?”

  She nodded and pointed to a small chair on the other side of the fire. “Be my guest,” she said.

  The Devil sauntered over and dropped down lightly into the offered chair, taking off his long, black leather trench coat and laying it beside him on the ground. “You’ve led me on a bit of a chase these past few days,” he said.

  “I didn’t know you were looking for me,” Stephanie began to cut the rabbit in half, placing one steaming piece of golden brown meat on a tin plate and handing it to her guest.

  Daniel flashed her a grin as he took the plate. “Look at you,” he said. “You’ve been an Infernal for just a few days, and already you lie like a pro.” He took a big bite and began to chew, nodding enthusiastically as he savoured the flavour of fresh grilled meat.

  Stephanie watched him eat, holding her plate in her lap as she sat, looking tired and dejected.

  “I’ve got big plans for you, girl,” Daniel said as he continued to attack the rabbit, juice dripping slowly down his chin. Hunks of meat were visible in his mouth as he spoke. “This is your first time being an Infernal. Young little thing like you is gonna learn a lot of nasty and useful skills on this side of the fence. It’s important to find the right mentor your first time, and I think I have just the person in mind for you.”

  “Really?” Stephanie asked sarcastically.