by Cosimo Yap
“Betray humanity? Me? I’ve done nothing but the opposite. If anyone was betrayed it was me,” Alan said.
Doppel brought up information on diplomat classes in the Game. Daisy should have the ability to tell if he was lying, which would hopefully make this conversation easier.
“No,” Daisy said. “Kitana knew that the attack on Earth’s financial institutions was a ruse—a ploy. You did not. You wanted to cripple the United World Government any way possible.”
“Because I believed at the time, and still do, that the path the UWG is on leads to humanity’s enslavement or extinction,” Alan said. “That’s why I came here today. I have new information that—”
“How are we supposed to trust anything you say? You have demonstrated repeatedly that you are an independent actor, obsessed with gaining levels and growing more powerful in the Game,” Daisy said. “Power comes at a cost, but it also comes with responsibility. You possess one of the most powerful AI in all of humanity, and instead of helping us plan our planet’s development or performing your civic duty you’re off joining alien mercenary guilds.”
Kitana opened her mouth like she wanted to say something, but then closed it.
“I had one of the most powerful AI, Eve isn’t with me anymore. Also I’m human,” Alan said. “I was born on Earth, I grew up there. I love my family, my country, my world. My people. But you don’t need to trust me, just take a look at this data.”
Alan took out a data cube and tossed it to Daisy.
“On there you will find information regarding the Empire’s plans for Earth,” Alan said. “From the beginning, high-level quest givers—faction leaders or their subordinates—have been recruiting players from Earth into the Empire. Often players don’t even know those they are working for are servants or androids. It does not matter if Earth cannot be attacked physically or financially if its best have already been tricked into serving another faction.”
“I am here to maintain peaceful relations and discover what joining the Empire might entail,” Daisy said. “Thus far the Empire has been nothing but accommodating and—”
“No. You don’t understand,” Alan said. “You do not join the Empire. You are enslaved by the Empire. No one is free; they are all tied to another’s will.”
“What are you doing here, Alan?” Kitana asked. “What’s your plan?”
Alan smiled, and said, “I've stopped trying to stick to one plan. That's a lesson in futility. Instead, I'm shaping the future, nurturing and developing ideal outcomes. Imagine the future is a tree of possibilities, growing ever upwards and branching out in innumerable paths. We all stand at different points on the tree, only able to see so far, only able to change so much. Many paths are hidden, yet to be revealed.”
Alan’s eyes glowed. Mechanical gears spun, turning faster and faster. “I see fruits, waiting to be picked, and bountiful harvests. But I also see death and destruction. Permanent ends. I am doing my best to prune the bad branches and to help the good. But time is a river that is ever flowing, pushing upwards, and the tree continues to grow beyond anyone's control. I only hope to make a difference.”
Alan closed his eyes. When he reopened them, they were dull. Alan whispered, half to himself, “I will make a difference, no matter the cost.”
“Why are you here? Why come to us, if not to claim the bounty the Black Rose guild placed on my head?” Kitana asked.
“Like I told you before, I’m trying to open new pathways, branches in the future,” Alan said. “It’s what the Empire has been doing from the start, planning every step of the way and ensuring that the only path available to Earth is to join the Empire. The major tournament organizers, the ones that introduced Icewolf to the Game? Empire agents. The Black Rose guild, that recruited us at the start of the Game? Empire agents. The backers of the Legion of Man? Empire agents. And you are playing right into their hands.”
“What? How do you know all of this?” Daisy asked.
Alan pointed at the data cube he’d handed over. “It’s all there, on that cube.”
“Even if what you say is true, and this sounds more like a conspiracy theory than anything else, what can we do?” Daisy asked. “We are a single planet, new to the Game. We won’t survive a month after our new-player status is revoked. Would you rather everyone join the Three and become religious zealots?”
“No, not at all,” Alan said. “I have started down two paths that will lead to either the destruction or crippling of one of the major factions arrayed against Earth: the Empire and the Haxlards. That will open up new opportunities, new options.”
“You’re crazy, Alan,” Daisy said. “I don’t know where you’ve been or what you’ve been up to, but if you think that you can take out two major factions you’ve lost it. Earth’s entire army would barely have an impact, let alone a single person.”
“They might if they were willing to risk it all,” Alan said. “Take a gamble, make an illogical choice. But like I said it’s my home—where my friends, my family are from. People I’ve loved.”
Alan looked from Kitana to Daisy. “People do stupid things for love. I hope I’m remembered as a hero. That’s probably at least a small part of why I’ve come to you here today. In case you lose that data cube, or it’s wiped, there’s a safehouse on Khersath that I set up with the same info. I’ll give you the access codes.”
“Stop being so melodramatic and self-aggrandizing,” Daisy said. “You’re not a martyr.”
“Don’t get me wrong. I’m doing everything I possibly can to try to make it out of this alive,” Alan said, “but the odds aren’t great.”
“Should I kill him?” Kitana asked.
“No,” Daisy said. She turned the data cube over in her fingers. “Leave us. I’ll need to verify this, see if the information you brought is true.”
“Goodbye, and good luck,” Alan said.
Alan made his way back to his room in the palace and then stopped. A Predecessor was waiting for him. The Predecessor was over ten feet tall, with soulsteel embedded and infused into its skin. It had killed Alan during the Tutorial.
Alan activated divided mind, hypercognition, and mental partitioning.
“Stop that,” the Predecessor said. A force pushed against Alan’s mind, trying to end the abilities and break his focus. This time, Alan fought against the mental attack, pushing back, but he was too weak. Divided mind broke, and then hypercognition. A silent roar erupted from Alan, and with grim determination he managed to keep the smallest of mental partitions alive, hiding a few thoughts in the back of his mind.
The Predecessor looked Alan up and down. “Better, but still not there. You think you have found answers, but all you possess is more lies. You are a foolish child eager to share their half-truths and force their views upon the world. But your reality is warped, twisted in ways you cannot imagine. I will save you by forcing you to serve.”
“You. You’re the Emperor. A Predecessor and some type of mental-psionic ability user,” Alan said. He slipped his hand into a compartment in his power armor.
The Predecessor smiled. “Perhaps. Perhaps not. The potential I saw before has grown, but it is still only budding—your power has not yet fully manifested itself. Serve me willingly, child, and I will bring you closer to Aleph than you have ever imagined.”
Alan began to kneel. He reached out his mind, started to concentrate on—
The Predecessor backhanded Alan into the wall. Faster than Alan could react, it ripped the void crystal out of his armor and examined it.
Alan tried to reach out, to form a connection with the crystal through the Game, but the stones in the walls ate away at every attempt. A block was placed in his mind, disconnecting Alan from his own Machine Lord implant.
Alan slumped to the floor, defeated.
“A decent attempt, but it would have failed,” the Predecessor said. It held the void crystal next to its head. “A point-blank blast of all the energy contained within this crystal would only halve my health.
I have desecrated my body, broken my soul—and for what? So that energy weapons and the tools of the enemy have a lesser effect. I am forced to play by their rules, but I don’t want to fight toy soldiers—they aren’t my match. They lie in wait, waiting for their brethren to join the crusade. I will prove that they are right to fear me.”
The Predecessor looked down at Alan. “All your actions are futile, your plans meaningless. You are still playing a game you cannot win. Join me and I will show you the way. Pick up your feet and serve the righteous cause.”
Despair raced through Alan. Apathy. He had failed, and there was nothing he could do. He was nothing: a speck of dust, a single human being in an uncaring universe. Nothing he could ever do would matter. He might as well give in.
No, there was still hope. He had progressed. He would become stronger, and put up more and more of a fight until either he won or died.
Alan recalled a memory, and then stood up, staring into the Predecessor’s eyes.
“You came to Earth in search of allies, not servants,” Alan said. “You do not want another dog begging at your feet for scraps, but someone that can fight by your side. I challenge you, Emperor, so I may prove my species’ worth.”
A soulsteel blade was at Alan’s throat the next instant. “I warned you I would not be lenient.”
“No, not a battle here and now, but one with all my allies and items gathered, in an open field of battle,” Alan said. “I know I stand no chance against you alone.”
“So you can run back to the Three for reinforcements, and become another enemy? Pledge yourself to me now, or die,” the Predecessor said.
“No. If you strike me down I swear I will come back once this crusade is finished and devote myself to ending you and your Empire for all eternity,” Alan said. He closed his eyes, and activated the mysterious ability Void had taught him, trying to get a feel for the Game itself. “Death is life.”
The Predecessor stared off into the distance, playing about with a shard of soulsteel in its hands. Small cuts on its scarred hands appeared, but it only lost 0.2% of its health.
Alan tried to run a few calculations, but without his implant could only hazard rough guesses. If Alan stabbed the Predecessor with his knife it might only be a glancing blow. And the Predecessor possessed such speed that it outpaced every other enemy he had faced before. Any movement would be detected immediately. There was no escape.
“Yes, I did have a few questions, didn’t I... Whose soulsteel do you now carry?” the Predecessor asked.
“The Lord of the Abyss,” Alan answered.
“I will accept your challenge, then, on the condition that you receive no aid from the Haxlards. Only players that willingly join you. And, when you lose, you pledge that you will forever be a loyal servant afterward, devoting yourself wholly, mind and soul, to my cause,” the Predecessor said.
Alan’s quest updated:
Become Worthy
You have discovered the mysterious Predecessor to be the Emperor, and have challenged it to battle. Due to the Emperor’s acceptance, all other quest prerequisites are waived. Do you agree to its conditions?
Penalty: Should you lose the fight you will become the Emperor’s lifelong servant.
Reward: ??? The Emperor’s death. Soulsteel.
Time Limit: A minute to accept the offer. Battle will take place one day later on Domus’s surface, away from any fortifications or war zones.
Threat Level: Beta – Gamma
Warning! By agreeing to the updated quest you may potentially become the lifelong servant of another within the Game. It is highly advised that you do not accept these terms.
“Return access to my implant, let me think over the choice,” Alan said.
The Emperor ignored Alan. The timer on the quest text counted down. 30 seconds. 25. 20. 15. 10. 9. 8. 7. 6. 5. 4. 3. 2. 1. ε.
Epsilon? Alan thought, and then blurted out as the timer expired, “I accept, given I am allowed to use all my items and abilities.”
“Very well. Tomorrow the barren earth’s thirst will be quenched. Tomorrow you die and will begin your next life anew, serving for all eternity. But you are already a servant, unaware of the masters you serve, so I suppose it is no great change,” the Emperor said.
It tossed the void crystal to Alan, and then disappeared from view, moving too fast for Alan to process.
Alan’s Machine Lord implant returned to him. He ran a few calculations in his head.
I am confused, Doppel sent. Is this winning?
Alan ignored them, and then made his way back to Kitana’s room. He knocked on the door and said, “I need your help. A new path has opened.”
Chapter 24
The catacombs were laid out like a graveyard, a mass burial site for the living. It was as heavily guarded as the imperial palace, if not more so. Predecessors, giant mechs, and numerous servants stood at the gate and patrolled the grounds.
Extending his senses, Alan found that this place amplified signals rather than absorbing them. It felt like he could reach out and connect to the satellites and starships orbiting the planet.
A massive half-sphere mausoleum that looked like a space observatory lay at the center of the catacombs. A wave of signals was constantly being broadcast from it. Smaller half-sphere buildings dotted the grounds as well, also trading signals with the stars.
Alan was still a mile away from the shields that surrounded the catacombs when two Predecessors approached and grabbed his arms. “What are you doing here?”
“I am here to find a player named Phantom,” Alan said.
“You are not allowed to be here. Return to the palace.”
“I am preparing to face the Emperor in a duel. I am allowed to gather my allies, some of whom I believe to be in the catacombs,” Alan said.
The Predecessors traded a look of confusion. “Duel the Emperor? Weakling, this is not a place for jokes.”
“Is a servant by the name of Phantom or Enigma present? Send a message to them. Or perhaps the Emperor,” Alan said. He stared into one of the Predecessor’s eyes. “I am serious about the duel. I would not recommend barring my way.”
One of the Predecessors disappeared, forcing Alan to activate hypercognition to track its movement back into the catacombs. A minute later it returned, and Alan was led through shields and security checkpoints into one of the buildings.
Though the place was called the catacombs, capsules filled the graves instead of caskets. Almost fifty players lay in this building alone. The majority of the capsules were filled, and Alan detected that Aurora was in one of them. Phantom and Enigma stood by its side.
Within the room a massive parabolic satellite dish hummed with power, amplified by an unknown force. The catacombs were both sending and receiving signals. Alan realized that this was likely where the Specialists came from. They were androids tied to players here, safe in their capsules. But what were the players doing?
“Leave us,” Phantom said. The Predecessors left the room.
“What is this suicidal duel I hear about?” Phantom asked.
“I only wish for a chance at power,” Alan said. “It seemed like my only way out at the time. I assume that you don’t want to help?”
“No. I suggest you beg the Emperor for a more lenient sentence.”
“You and I both know that would never work,” Alan said.
“No, it wouldn’t,” Phantom said.
Alan turned to Enigma. “If you won’t help, what about Void?”
Phantom laughed. “Why would Void help you?”
“The best lies contain a hint of truth,” Alan said. “I was re-examining Void’s departure from the guild, your story about how you were both sent by the Empire. Things just didn’t make sense or add up. But then I realized you’re too smart to put your eggs in one basket.
“You knew the Black Rose guild could potentially be wiped out, but leaving would be betraying the Empire. Void, however, could leave, even join the Haxlards. With a man on each side of
the Extinction Event you win no matter what. I checked, and the rules allow you to revive players from the enemy side. Plus, if Void follows every god, would that not also include the Three?”
Enigma removed his helmet, revealing a grinning Void. He looked taller and older, grown to fit Enigma’s build.
“But how do you know I’m not an android? What if we are all only robots, pretending to be human?” Void asked.
“We are not here to play mind games,” Phantom said. He looked over at the capsule Aurora lay in. “Now that Alan knows the secret, the Emperor will also discover it. Better to end the problem now.”
“Surely you have a way of contacting the Smith,” Alan said. “We can catch the Emperor unguarded and—”
“Plans unravel, traps are sprung. Men die and time moves on,” Void said. “It cannot be done. Have your birdies left you, Alan? Or is it you that have abandoned them?”
Alan lifted his head. “I am prepared to sacrifice myself. That is the decision that I have made, to do whatever it takes to accomplish my goals. Do not get in my way. Will you help me in my duel against the Emperor or not?”
“You do not understand the moves you are making,” Void said. “A childish gambit to save one’s homeworld? A sacrifice to take a powerful piece off the board? It matters not. They still win in the end. I did not join the Empire because it was the wisest decision, but because the Emperor knows where the true enemies lie. You do not. Better for you to become a servant, I think.”
“That wasn’t a yes or a no,” Alan said. “The Emperor is giving me a chance, why don’t you?”
“Leave,” Phantom said. “Get off this planet and avoid the Empire at all cost. You are still the owner of the Titan, are you not? I’m sure you are resourceful enough to get on the ship and try to fly far, far away. It is in orbit, being retrofitted to become a spy ship. The Game will place you against Haxlard fleets that will destroy you, but it is a better life than being a servant to a monster you cannot understand.”
