Restoration: The Rise of Resurgence: Book II

by Joshua W. Nelson

  “Yeah, Alex. It’s a flaw in the game if you ask me. It’s my spell, so I should be able to turn it off at any time. But here in Resurgence, once cast, that’s it.”

  “Ok. Then definitely no attacking the boss. Cool?”

  “Makes sense to me.”

  I looked around at the remaining members of the raid. Gary would be another DPS guy just like me, and Tyke was going to be a back-up healer along with Kaitlin. Both of them had offensive spells, though, so I needed to make sure they understood their roles, too.

  “At the beginning of the battle, I’m going to ask that Tyke and Anastasia only heal. I know you guys have some wicked offensive spells, but with so little knowledge of what we’re up against, I want to play it a little conservative at first. “

  After not hearing any objections, I looked around at the raid again. “I know it’s light on the details, but that’s the best I can do for now. Once we engage the mobs, listen closely for my instructions. If you see something that you think I should be taking into account when I give direction, please don’t hesitate to tell me. Since I’m going to be adding my damage to the fight as well, I’m likely to miss stuff.”

  Before I could go into any more details, Pike came ambling over to our parties and said the caravan was about to head out and we needed to get in our positions. I asked Pike one last time if he had any more news, and he apologized for having nothing more to add.

  Within moments of settling into the back of our wagon, we felt the shift of wheels and the forward momentum of the cart. As we were bouncing around in the back, Dan said, “They should have let me drive the cart. I’m really good at it. You guys remember how awesomely I handled those horses that last time?”

  Undisclosed Location

  “We’ve got a bit of an issue, General.”

  Dan entered the conference room where the General and Colonel Thompson were sitting and began without any preamble.

  “What seems to be the matter Mr. Hamson?”

  “A message went out today to all of the players in the beta offering a unique opportunity to their significant others to see for themselves what their partners have been doing for the last several months. In essence, AltCon offered a day pass to adults in the immediate family to log-in to Resurgence. A special zone is being implemented for these folks, where they will be able to interact with NPCs and players but won’t be attacked by any of the creatures in the game. They will be able to shadow their counterparts as they go around, but there won’t be any violence. They probably don’t want to freak out the spouses or whoever is given access.”

  “You don’t have a spouse, Mr. Hamson, so what did your message say?”

  “Mine simply informed me that there would be a down day for the stipend players so the others could interact in Resurgence with their significant others. Jason told us that part of the message he received required his husband, James, to sign an NDA before he would be given access into the game. Jason planned to have James do so and get him logged in.”

  “And you think this could be a problem how?”

  “I’ve talked to plenty of players, General, through my teammates or down at the Taverns. I know that there have been some players that are being pressured by their spouses to leave the game. I wouldn’t put it past AltCon to try and mess with the spouses as much as they would mess with the players.”

  “There hasn’t been any indication of that going on, but given the track record to date, I am in full agreement with you, Mr. Hamson. At least we don’t have to worry about you trying to get your spouse into the game. Not that you would if given a choice.”

  “Sure I would, General. It would be a great opportunity for them.”

  The General and Colonel looked at each other for the briefest of moments. After sharing that look, the General addressed Dan again. “And what news from the game, Mr. Hamson?”

  “I’m afraid I’ve got nothing to report. Everything seems to be moving along, same as it ever was.”

  “And you know the goal of this team is to take down AltCon and disrupt their plans?”

  Dan looked first at the General and then at the Colonel. “Umm, yeah. That’s been the point of this since day one.”

  “Then can you please explain this comment, Mr. Hamson.”

  At that moment, the General signaled Thompson who had been fiddling with a data pad. On the screen, the General played back the few moments where Dan spoke in a positive tone about AltCon.

  “What the fuck?” Dan said as he watched the screen. After several moments, he looked at the General and said, “I did say that. I mean, I can remember saying it, but it feels weird. Like a memory I can barely reach. That doesn’t happen to me, General.”

  “Indeed. And can you explain it?”

  Dan looked as confused as he had ever been and was thankfully saved by the neurological specialist that had been brought in for this mission.

  “Dan probably can’t, but I can. Take a look at this scan.”

  With a few twitches over his data pad, the doctor had brought up a large picture of a brain scan. It was labeled ‘Hamson, Daniel’ beneath it. “What you gentlemen are looking at is a pure work of art.”

  “You hear that, General? Told you my brain was priceless.”

  The General ignored Dan, as he often did when Dan’s “TheClaw” persona came out, and addressed the Doctor. “So I don’t have to hear Mr. Hamson ramble on ad nauseam, can you please explain that last statement.”

  “Yes, sorry about that, sir. It appears that AltCon has returned to their old ways. As you know, it has been some time since we saw any type of manipulation on Mr. Hamson, and the last one was quite horrible, as you recall.

  “The downtime all makes sense now. It must have taken them some time, and quite a few experts in the field, to go from that back-alley hatchet job to this. The reason that Mr. Hamson does not remember his statements, or has limited recall, is due to the way the conditioning was implemented this time around.

  “The science of this is quite complex, General, so I am going to gloss over much of this and try to make it understandable for the layman. In regards to conditioning, such as Mr. Hamson’s manipulation, the hypothalamus is directly stimulated to provide a dopamine response when Mr. Hamson thinks of AltCon in a positive light. That dopamine injection reinforces the positive outlook.”

  “Mr. Hamson thinks happy thoughts about the company, and in turn he gets a little happy pill in the guise of his dopamine output?”

  “Exactly. The repeated conditioning was designed to stimulate a continuous introduction of small levels of dopamine whenever his thoughts praised the company. However, the hypothalamus is not a part of memory creation. Where the hypothalamus plays a large role in reward for behavior, it is the hippocampus that plays a role in memory.”

  The General was taking notes as the doctor spoke, even though all of this was being recorded, as Dan saw just moments before. Still, the General liked to contextualize what was being said at the moment. He would undoubtedly review the same material in his office at a later time.

  “It would take hours to explain how the hippocampus and several other regions of the brain, such as the prefrontal cortex and amygdala, affect memory. Suffice it to say, someone who has a damaged hippocampus would not have the ability to form long-term memories.”

  “Are you saying Mr. Hamson’s brain has been damaged?”

  “You mean more than is normal for Mr. Hamson?”

  The General couldn’t help it. He snorted. He didn’t see that one coming at all.

  “Dick move, doc.”

  “Sorry, Dan. You know I couldn’t pass that up,” the doctor said before continuing. “No, General, Mr. Hamson’s brain has not been damaged. That’s why this is a thing of beauty. The manipulation is somehow sending two separate messages to the hypothalamus. I honestly don’t know how it is being done. But apparently, when Dan was asked at this most recent brain scan to think about AltCon, as he does at each scan, the results were drastically different
. Instead of a simple release of dopamine like we’ve previously seen, there was also a distinct drop in cranial blood pressure around the hippocampus region.

  “The hypothalamus is also responsible for the regulation of blood pressure, and this drop seems to have affected the hippocampus in such a way that it stops working for that brief moment.”

  “So whenever Mr. Hamson speaks or thinks about AltCon, he gets a little high but can’t remember why?”

  “Essentially.”

  “If he does have a negative feeling toward the company, the whole incident wouldn’t even register as being out of place.”

  “Now you see it.”

  The General was a picture of unhappiness as he sat at the head of the table. There had been some discussion around the office on whether AltCon had abandoned their plans. Now it was obvious that they had been perfecting them, not abandoning them. This was not going to read well at his next meeting with the White House or Director Grissten.

  “Keep Mr. Hamson monitored, doctor. If there appears to be any danger from this new conditioning, you tell me immediately. I will not hesitate to pull you out of this operation, Dan, if I think you are in danger. Dismissed.”

  Chapter 14

  November 9th, 2043

  We had been riding in the back of the wagons for about an hour when Dan spoke up. “We don’t have a ‘go’ word.”

  “What are you talking about, Dan?”

  “A ‘go’ word, Wayne. A signal that we can yell out that lets everyone know it’s time to engage. We didn’t make one.”

  I looked over at Wayne. “Do you think we need one?”

  At that moment, we heard Pike yell out, in a very high falsetto, “Attaaaaack!”

  Wayne shrugged at me. “Guess not.”

  We climbed out of the back of the wagon, and I saw members of the King’s guard running around but not really engaging anyone. I looked out at the tree line that ran along the road and saw figures running toward the main thoroughfare.

  I yelled out in the raid channel where everyone could hear me, “Dan, I need your Map!”

  “It’s up! What do you need?”

  “Enemy mobs in the area, what color are they?”

  “All Blue.”

  “How many do you see?”

  “I count eight.”

  “Alright, folks, here we go. There doesn’t look to be a boss right now. Jenny and Tyke, you guys take two each. Dan, forget damage. I’m going to have you kite two. Wayne, grab the last two. Once a team brings your mobs down, yell out, and Dan will bring one over to you. Let’s see how well our crowd control works out here.”

  Just like that, twelve players rushed the approaching targets and engaged them instantly. The caravan was entirely safe, for now.

  Wayne grabbed his two, and I was going to work on his primary target while he maintained aggro on the second.

  “How are they hitting, Wayne?”

  “These guys are nothing, Alex. We’ll have them down in no time. I’m shocked that they are actually Blue.”

  Wayne was right. We weren’t having any problem with these mobs at all. After a short time, I heard Jenny yell out that she was ready for one of Dan’s mobs, and soon after Lug yelled out the same thing.

  “Tammer, Slovak, how is Bedazzle holding up?” Bedazzle was the Enchanter Spell that would put the mob into a daze. Unlike Charm, where the Enchanter actually controls the mob, this was more like putting them to sleep on their feet.

  “Not getting any resists at all, Alex.” Tammer replied.

  “Same here.”

  “Could you handle two?”

  Both acknowledged that they could.

  When the last mob was down, Dan announced that we had more incoming headed to the road from the same tree line. The count was eight Blue, again, but this time there was an additional mob added to the mix. A Red.

  “Ok, Boss is on the scene. Small shift from last time. Jenny and Lug, take three Blue each. Dan, kite two again. Naugha will grab the Boss. Go!”

  I hadn’t really paid attention to the names of the first mobs, but now I noticed they were called Turncoat Soldiers. The boss was the Turncoat Captain. If I had one negative review of Resurgence, it was the naming of the mobs. They really needed to get more inventive.

  Wayne quickly established his aggro on the main boss and proceeded to engage. I could stab at the mob, doing a little damage, or I could help with the extra friends he brought along with him. I told Wayne I was running off to join the other groups, and he nodded his head in acknowledgement.

  With my extra Damage, I was able to help Lug and company take down their mobs quickly, almost at the same time as Jenny’s group. Dan quickly brought each group the extras and those were dispatched in a quick manner. So far, this had been smooth sailing.

  Once the eight Soldiers had been dispatched, everyone joined Wayne and started to beat down on the Captain.

  “This guy has mad hit points and a pretty damn high armor rating,” Wayne said.

  I had to agree, as the combined damage of so many players was barely dropping his hit points. Drop they did, though, and people were conserving mana appropriately. Then the Captain hit 75 percent.

  “Reinforcements!”

  The yell didn’t come from the Captain but from one of the King’s guards standing on top of a wagon. As I looked out at the tree line again, I saw another eight Blue Soldiers advancing.

  “You guys know what to do. Same as last time. Report anything that doesn’t seem right. This is going way too easy.”

  “Seriously, Alex. You can’t just let a sleeping dog lie—which is one of the few sayings that actually makes sense. Now you know something horrible is going to happen.”

  “Just keep an eye out, TC.”

  “Always do.”

  We had downed the first two mobs and were working on the second set when Wayne yelled out, “Healers!”

  “Where are they, Dan?”

  “Shit! Sorry, I didn’t see them. Other tree line.”

  I broke away from Lug’s group and went across the road a bit until I could see the other tree line. There they were, two Turncoat Healers. Both were Yellow.

  “Slovak, if you hit that Entranced Soldier with a Charm, what happens?”

  “If he resists, it breaks the Entranced Spell, and I get my ass beat.”

  “And if he doesn’t, it immediately becomes your pet?”

  “Yup!”

  In any encounter like this, you always have to take the healers out first. It’s a must. While I will often buck the usual strategy of things in gaming, this one is sacrosanct for a reason.

  “Do it, guys! Charm your mobs and send them over to attack the Healers. If nothing else, it should disrupt their casting enough to stop them from saving the mobs you are on now.

  “Once the mob you are on now is dead, cross the road and finish the Healers.”

  The Charmed mobs had succeeded in stopping the Healers from landing their Spells, but it also turned them onto Tammer and Tim’s pets, which were now dead. The good news was that the Healers were almost dead, too, and with our combined groups, we were able to take them down. That left only two more Blue mobs, the ones that Dan was kiting. Those went down in quick order, and we made our way back to the Boss.

  Jenny and Lug hadn’t said anything about their mobs being healed. When we got back to Wayne, I realized it was because they hadn’t been. The Healers were focused on their Captain, and he was now back at 84 percent.

  “Oh, man! Screw those guys! They couldn’t heal the baby mobs?”

  “At least he isn’t hitting for much, Alex. I think everyone is pretty good on mana, right?”

  It was confirmed that all of our casters were at 80 percent or above.

  We began the slow process of eating away at the Captain’s hit points again. It took forever, but we finally got him down to 50 percent. Just like last time, more guards showed up from out of the tree line and the same guard yelled out that the reinforcements were coming. Only this t
ime I had a plan.

  Once the new Soldiers arrived, Gary and Syphon headed out for the opposite tree line. Syphon, as a Death Caster, had a similar skill as Gary, wherein he could Play Dead, except his required him to cast a Spell to make it work. This didn’t always work if he was getting beat on by a mob, even though the cast was extremely quick. In this case, I had them both Play Dead long before any mobs were in their path.

  “These new soldiers are Blue and Yellow, Alex,” Dan yelled out.

  “Try to isolate the Yellows and attack them first. Entrance one of the Blue mobs, and Charm the other if there are more Blue than Yellow.”

  “That is doable.”

  “Take the Yellow down first, using the Charmed mobs to help. I don’t want Sayhey or Syphon to move from their positions. You guys ready?”

  “Ready.”

  “Just waiting for them to pop.”

  Exactly as the previous iteration had proceeded, as soon as the first Soldier was dead and the second was at half, two Turncoat Healers appeared, running toward the road from the other tree line.

  “We’ve got ‘em,” Syphon said.

  “Let loose before they have a chance to start casting.”

  And with that, both Gary and Syphon popped up from the ground and attacked the Healers. Without waiting to finish the mobs they were currently on, Tammer and Tim took their Charmed mobs over to the Healers to help attack. The surprise attacks by Gary and Syphon had interrupted any heals, and the remaining party members, who weren’t already actively Tanking a mob, were able to arrive and engage before the Captain could receive a reprieve. However, Gary and Syphon did take a bit of a beating. Tyke and Kaitlin had to dip into their mana reserves to get both back to full hit points.

  With the Healers dead, it was just a matter of cycling through the remaining mobs, the ones Dan was kiting, and the Charmed mobs.

  It was time to take the Captain down to 25 percent.

  We had established a good system, but I had serious doubts that we would get lucky a third time.