Devastator

by Jason Cordova

  Phase Two complete. Establishing link to the Path. Will update soonest.

  Satisfied, Gargoyle shot the message out into the quantum net and fell asleep, surrounded by electrons and protected by the Nexus.

  * * * * *

  Chapter 4

  Tori wiped the sweat from her brow and looked around at the massive throng of people filling up the lines in front of Epcot, a shocking amount considering the early hour. She smiled and looked at the visitors, and noticed nearly every one of them had the look of a gamer. The lack of color on their skin from no sunlight was the key indicator. Another was the furrowed look on their faces, as though they were squinting. There were a few others she could see who weren’t the typical pasty-skinned gamers. She would’ve spotted more, but she knew it was rude to stare. Instead, she scanned the front of the lines, wondering how well Disney security was handling it.

  Apparently, better than she’d expected. The enormous horde formed long lines in an orderly manner, and the staff, used to maybe a third of the current size of the lines at this hour, were doing an excellent job searching people while keeping the lines flowing smoothly. She heard a slight rumbling behind her and grinned, empathy and mad respect for the Disney workers growing by leaps and bounds. Another monorail had pulled up, depositing another few hundred gamers and families on the long ramp to the park’s entrance.

  She managed to make her way more quickly through the crowd than most because she’d left her backpack in the hotel room. Her line was much shorter than the others and, given the search by security was easier for her, she was soon inside Epcot proper. She stared at the giant Spaceship Earth exhibit and grinned. Something about picturing aliens golfing with the giant sphere in her mind had always made her laugh when she’d seen ads for family vacations to Disney World.

  Yeah, she admitted to herself and moved toward the soda shop, where an individual could taste soda products from around the world. Something about Disney in general always seems to put a smile on my face.

  She continued toward the exhibit and spotted what she’d been looking for. She stepped inside the soda shop and was immediately blasted in the face with noise and frigid air. Other gamers, it seemed, also knew of the free watering hole and had arrived en masse to sample the caffeinated beverages. She knew what she wanted, though, and managed to push her way through the disorganized crowd to take a drink of Korean soda pop.

  All around her she could smell the scent of unwashed teenagers, overpowering when combined with the humid heat of the Florida swamp. It wasn’t much different than the student store back on campus, although the teens and young adults currently around her were sweating far more than back home due to the temperature. She’d smelled worse, though, and was only mildly appalled as she weaved her way through the crowd. She sipped her drink and spotted a few other gaming club members, each with their logos emblazoned broadly on their t-shirts. She grinned and realized more people were pouring into the shop. It was getting to be a bit crowded.

  Before the throng of people could get worse, she ducked out of the shop, small cup of overly-sweetened soda in hand as she made her way past the giant spray fountains toward the lake in the center of the park. The water separated the different countries’ exhibits, kept them in a giant circle, and made it an easy walk for almost anyone. During the night, she recalled from the infomercial on the television in her hotel room, the lake was usually the center of a gorgeous fireworks and a laser light show. Not this weekend, however. The smaller lake, which extended directly toward her hotel, was where the fireworks would be held.

  She almost stopped and went to the Test Track, which had recently been upgraded to test drive drag racing cars, but something about going over one hundred and fifty miles an hour in a flimsy piece of plastic and steel changed her mind. Instead, she continued toward the lake. Or rather, the large tent that currently hid the lake.

  A massive, air conditioned tent had been placed over the decorative fountain lake. Large LCD monitors bigger than cars were mounted on the outside of the tent so visitors could watch the gamers from the outside. The tent was supported by dozens of large steel beams; there was almost ten thousand square feet of space within. Inside the large tent was a solid floor, tons of comfortable seats, and thousands of neural interface device jacks. This, she recalled from speaking with Leo before departing Norfolk, was where the tournament was going to take place.

  She was tempted to check out the tented virtual “arena” but refrained. Disney security had been alerted about her arrival and the four teams she was leading, and a smaller room near the Canada section of Epcot should’ve been set aside for them. Disney had been told she and her teams were referees. It was a viable cover story, though flimsy if someone investigated deeper. Referees, she snorted mentally as she recalled one of the primary rules of The Warp. About as useful as a screen door on a submarine. As long as it doesn’t break the game, anything goes in The Warp.

  Tori stopped at the entrance of the tent, which was being guarded by a dozen security personnel. The twin docks, where visitors could normally cross the lake in small boats, led into the larger tent. She wasn’t sure how they were going to control crowd flow the next day, and personally didn’t care. That was their job. Her job, she reminded herself, was to find and eliminate the threat from within the system. The last thing they needed was for the target to pose a threat to other gamers, although Leo had assured her if that became the case, tournament or not, they’d pull the plug on the Nexus and start from scratch. She was determined to prevent that from happening, however, since the Nexus would be a completely different way to work within The Warp and still be able to avoid people if she wanted.

  She looked to her right toward Canada and nodded. There were a dozen thick, sinewy looking fiber optic cables running from the tent to Canada, and vice versa. Disney knew Epcot wasn’t the attraction it used to be and was going all-out to accommodate WarpSoft and the gaming tournament. In the past, Disney had shuttled major events such as this off to other locales, such as their sports zone or their newer locations outside of their main theme parks. However, Leo had told her Disney desired the publicity and cash the event was bringing in. Most especially the good publicity.

  She slowly sidled up to one of the guards and flashed her temporary WarpSoft identification badge. The Disney employee quickly scanned the ID on his tablet before grinning.

  “Holy…are you really her?” He asked.

  She nodded. “I guess,” she replied with a shrug and glanced toward Canada, then the rest of the world showcase. “Where are the referees setting up? I need to know where to take my people.”

  “Damn.” He whistled. “You’re way younger than I expected. Uh, if it’s not too much trouble, can I get a picture with you? My niece would scream at me for weeks if I didn’t.”

  “Sure,” she agreed, though she blushed at the attention. She still wasn’t used to the idea people thought of her as a celebrity.

  The guard pulled out his cell and took a quick selfie of the two of them. He pocketed the phone and thanked her profusely.

  “It’s no big deal,” she said, mildly self-conscious. She cleared her throat and asked again, “Where are the referees setting up? I need to know where to take my people.”

  The security guard whispered into the radio attached to his shoulder harness. A moment later he was nodding animatedly as the quick reply came through. She waited patiently for the guard to tell her what she already knew, and she looked back around at the rest of the world showcase. While interesting, the only place she wanted to go to was Germany, where she had a hankering for some bratwurst. Although she really did want to go see China and get her picture with some characters there.

  “Miss?” the guard interrupted her private musings. “I have our VP of Special Events coming down right now. She wanted to show you where you were going to be, herself.”

  “One other thing,” she asked and turned her full attention back to the guard. “I wanted to do a dinner with my group toni
ght, but in a semi-private place. Know anywhere good?”

  “Well, you could try the Biergarten,” the guard suggested with a shrug. “I eat there a lot. They have an upstairs dining area that can be kept apart from the rest of the restaurant. But if they’re busy, you could try Akershus over in the Norway section. They’re really good, and you can have a princess dinner if you wanted. The only other place if all of them were crowded would be a restaurant outside the parks, or downtown Disney Springs itself, miss. Perhaps Mrs. Martin can help you out. Here she comes now.”

  She grunted and spotted a well-dressed woman hustling toward her, hair in disarray as she moved quickly through the crowds to get to Tori’s location. She carefully hid a smile as the woman reached her, slightly out of breath but smiling nonetheless.

  “I’m Lisa Martin.” The tall, Hispanic woman introduced herself as she shook Tori’s hand. Tori looked her over from head to toe and was impressed. While it was obvious the woman was pretty, from her oddly-colored eyes to her dark skin, she was also built similar to an NFL linebacker, with shoulders that bespoke years of weightlifting and conditioning. She was definitely impressed, and almost asked her if she had any tips regarding muscle building for teenage girls. She stopped herself, though. It could potentially be embarrassing if she insulted her liaison for Disney. Not realizing she was being carefully inspected by the young girl, Lisa continued. “It’s definitely an honor to meet you. I’ll show you where you and your referees will be set up.”

  She thanked the security guard, who was now busy chasing off some nosy gamers, and she followed the statuesque woman toward Canada. As she’d suspected earlier, the location for her group was hidden back there. Five points for my team, she thought as she passed the larger tent area and began to look toward the smaller, enclosed space. The area was ideally set up to handle a small group, yet was close enough to the main concourse area of the park to allow them to take brief breaks if they needed. Although, she thought as they began to walk up the winding stairs toward the top of the waterfall above the Canada exhibit, we shouldn’t be taking any unscheduled breaks. Not until we finish what we came here to do.

  Lisa unlocked a small door, which led into a large room behind the waterfall, and motioned for her to follow. She closed the door behind them and waited for their eyes to adjust to the dimly-lit room. She blinked quickly, which allowed her eyes to recover faster, and whistled softly under her breath. Disney had really gone all out for them, she realized.

  The area was partitioned off into twenty or so individual areas with white curtains offering each “referee” some semblance of privacy. She knew from experience that privacy was a concern for some of the Moderators she’d selected. While the guys tended to do okay out in the open, the four other women she’d selected preferred privacy and separation. Thus, when she’d sent in her design requirements via email, she’d expected something along these lines. What she hadn’t expected, however, was the plush leather chairs and personal refrigerators at each station.

  There were also intravenous drips set up to combat dehydration, which shocked her to no end.

  It had never occurred to her to ask for an IV drip to prevent dehydration for her teams, although it should’ve been clearly evident after the incident with Crisis. The terrorists at the time had used the threat of dehydration to force WarpSoft’s hand earlier than expected. This time, she knew they wouldn’t have to worry about it. Although I’m not seeing a bathroom area, this will do nicely, she thought as she looked around the large area in approval.

  “What about bathrooms?” she asked.

  “Outside near the entrance to Norway,” Lisa replied. “If anyone wants to take an extended break, they can.”

  “That’s a good idea,” she murmured. Lisa turned to look at her and smiled.

  “We remember the Crisis incident,” she told her, echoing her earlier private thoughts. “And we learned a few things in preparation for the event. The referees can stay in as long as needed, or at least until the default mode in your NIDs kick you out. We have a fully-trained staff of licensed nurses on hand to assist, as well as techs who will keep an eye on the IV’s if you decide to go that route. We want WarpSoft to choose Disney World again for their future tournaments.”

  “So do I,” Tori replied. The level of energy and effort Disney was placing behind the tournament astounded and comforted her at the same time. It’s nice to deal with professionals, she thought with a smile of her own. “So do I.”

  * * *

  Tori looked around at the small throng of people in the room, pleased with her choices. There were a few of them she wasn’t totally sure about, though they were solid Moderators and coders. She’d have said they felt like political appointees, but she figured they’d be extremely offended if she started calling them zampolits, or political officers.

  She was once more grateful for Disney’s accommodations for the Moderators and WarpSoft personnel. The Biergarten, located in the German part of the world tour, was perhaps the best family restaurant in Epcot and also served the best beer. Plus, with its unique ability to host large, private parties, it was ideal for her situation and needs. Even if the security guard hadn’t mentioned the possibility of using the German tavern, she’d have insisted on it. She remembered krauts, soaked in butter and beer before being grilled on a massive metal skillet, from her time living in Germany.

  While the nation had, through no fault of its own, left an overall negative mark on her, there had been nothing wrong with the food.

  Her teams were enjoying their hearty meals and beginning to show signs of getting wasted on the good beer in the midst of great company. She wasn’t perturbed by the prospect, truth be told. She knew the IV drips the nurses could hook into them would kill most of their hangovers. Besides, she figured as she watched another man strike out with the gorgeous woman with long, flaming red hair at the far side of the main table, it’s not as if I want to stop them. They’d need it, this camaraderie. Moderators were a notoriously competitive bunch on their own. Mixed with gamers? It had the potential to either be terrific or blow up in all their faces.

  “Can I have your attention please?” she called out to the group, quieting them and restoring some semblance of order. She nodded and waited for them to take their respective seats before she began.

  “You all received your briefing packets on the flight in?” she asked, and after hearing a chorus of “yes” and “yeah,” she opened her own. Inside was thirty to forty pages of information regarding the world layouts of each realm they were infiltrating, as well as background information on their target. “One of the items I need to get across to all of you is we need to remain a cohesive unit. Right now, I haven’t assigned teams. I want more time to go over your information before I make a final decision. Rest assured, however, all teams will be balanced and skilled in the realm I assign them to, and you will get word which team you’re on before you arrive tomorrow morning for log on. Even you, Shane.”

  The blonde genius from northern Alabama blushed a bright red and ignored the laughter around him as the others flipped through their packets, their minds digesting the information. Tori had picked the best she knew, though a few were picks suggested by Leo. Those few were the ones she was unsure about. She thought about the situation before dismissing her concerns as she carefully avoided their gazes. She knew their names and their reputations but nothing more than the occasional bit of random info. It made her nervous.

  “What I have planned is for four five-man teams to infiltrate the worlds ahead of me, acting as referees for the ongoing tournaments while scouting around for weak spots into the Nexus,” she explained. “I want you all to lay low, if possible. The referee stuff is complete bull, but if the gamers buy it, then we’re golden. If a gamer asks you a question regarding a ruling, and you’re not certain, kick it to me, and I’ll decide.”

  “O Great Dungeon Master,” a voice caterwauled drunkenly from her left. Her head swiveled, and she spotted one of her potential p
roblem children, Samantha Martin. She casually flipped her hair and grinned. “What ever will we do? We are but poor, lost Moderators. Is there a village nearby?” The Moderators all laughed heartily at that, each of them familiar with the legend of the very first time Tori had been eliminated with her first character in Gladiator. She felt her ears heat up and turn red in embarrassment as she remembered, too.

  She’d been suckered into a trap by a group of three gamers who appeared to be nothing more than a harmless trio wandering through the woods. She’d been unwittingly hunting one of them, a bounty from the boards, but they’d banded together to become an inconspicuous group for protection and cover. She’d approached them cautiously, not realizing she’d forgotten to block her Bounty Hunter status. A rookie mistake, one that was rectified later. One of them had waved at her cheerfully.

  “Excuse me, milady,” one of the gamers had called out to her. Tori, curious, had moved closer. “I am but a poor, lost circus performer. Is there a tavern nearby?”

  “There’s not a tavern for miles, nor nothing else,” she’d replied, confused. Surely the other gamer had known that, especially given how far away they were from everything there in Gladiator.

  “Then there will be no one to hear you scream.”

  They’d made short work of the new Hunter, and it’d been a few weeks before she worked up enough courage to venture back into The Warp. Once she understood the movie reference, she’d felt extremely stupid. Her embarrassment had later given way to anger, and she later came up with a few ideas on how to exact her revenge.

  Of course, there were only four people who knew the whole story, and Samantha Martin was one of those people.

  “Okay, but in my defense, I had my revenge,” Tori called out, attempting to restore order to the room.

  “Inconceivable!” the group chorused. Tori grinned and waited for the laughter to die down before she continued, her face becoming serious as the Moderators and gamers each flipped open their books.