Ethan reached into a pocket and pulled out his personal device. He quickly checked the time on it before putting it away. He’d been playing Worldshift for over four hours. It had felt like much longer, more like sixteen, but that was normal. Time passed much faster inside the game, after all.
Ethan felt some of his tension slip away as he walked through his small home. A steady stream of sunlight shone in through the windows. Everything here was comfortable and familiar, although Ethan frowned as he realized it also felt empty and a bit stifling. Had it always been like that?
Once he reached the fridge, Ethan selected a shake from inside and drank it. He had some solid food around but didn’t feel like putting the effort into preparing it. The shake tasted fine, filled him up, and contained all the nutrients he needed. Putting more effort into eating seemed like a waste of time to Ethan, even if the drink had sort of a slimy texture as it slid down his throat.
As he drank, Ethan thought about everything that had happened in the game. It was a lot to process. After deciding to actually aim for the grand prize, he’d entered the Tower of Ascension. Inside, he’d completed several challenges alone before meeting up with Lily inside the mist room. Ethan frowned when he remembered the memories that place had dragged up. No matter how he looked at it, the effect must have been intentional. Why would the game designers want it to happen? It had been one of the least fun things to ever happen to Ethan. The only thing worse that came to mind was the shadow room… Ugh, no. He wasn’t going to think about that.
Suddenly, there was an urgent beep from his pocket. Instinctively, Ethan reached down to pull out his personal device. It was ringing because he’d just gotten a message. Ethan frowned in confusion as he read it.
They are coming for you. Don’t resist, but tell them nothing about the keys. Hold firm. Help is on the way.
Ethan was a little worried now. This wasn’t the sort of message anyone wanted to get. Who was supposed to be coming for him? There was also no sender information attached to the message, which was supposed to be impossible. As Ethan went over the cryptic message again, it faded from sight. What? Ethan hurriedly went through his personal device’s logs, but there was no sign he’d ever gotten a message. That was also supposed to be impossible. Seriously, what was going on? A chill went down Ethan’s spine. He couldn’t shake the feeling that something was about to happen. Was there actually someone after him? Who had sent this message to warn him? None of this made sense.
As Ethan stood in his small kitchen and tried to figure out what was going on, his doorbell rang. The gentle chime almost made him jump out of his skin, and he instantly spun around to look toward his front door. No one ever visited him without calling ahead first. This couldn’t be a coincidence.
A series of firm knocks rapped on the door, and the doorbell rang again. The loud sounds echoed through the small apartment and were impossible to ignore. Ethan didn’t move. He didn’t know what to do.
“Open up. This is the police. We are here to question one Ethan Smith about possible economic violations!” a man yelled in a commanding tone from outside. “We know you are in there, citizen. If you don’t open up, we will be forced to make a controlled entry.”
The police! What could Ethan have possibly done to attract their attention? This was bad. No one wanted to get involved with the Bureau of Economic Harmony. They could easily destroy someone like Ethan, even if he hadn’t done anything wrong.
There was another forceful knock on the door, so Ethan reluctantly moved toward the door. He didn’t really have much choice here. If this was the police, they would easily be able to open his electronic lock using their government codes, and annoying them by making them wait would be terrible idea.
“I’m here. Can you show me some identification?” Ethan asked as he brought up the feed from his door camera onto his personal device.
There were two men standing on Ethan’s veranda. Both looked middle-aged, but only one of the men was wearing the dark blue uniform of the police. He had a hefty build that made him look slightly out of shape, and his short brown hair was mostly covered by his uniform’s blue cap. The other man had on a grey suit with a blue tie. He was clean shaven with black hair and a thin hawkish face. As Ethan watched, the man in the suit reached into his jacket and pulled out a badge, which he held up to the camera Ethan was using. Neither of the men looked particularly friendly. There was a cold look in their eyes that Ethan didn’t like.
Sighing, Ethan opened his door to let the police officers in. He hoped they would realize he hadn’t done anything wrong and leave soon. Yeah, right…
As soon as the door was open, the man in the police uniform stepped forward as if to block the door and glared at Ethan. “You’re Ethan Smith.”
“Ah, yes,” Ethan replied nervously, even though it hadn’t really been phrased as a question.
The two men looked at each other and nodded. The one in the suit then turned toward Ethan. “Please come with us. We’d like to have a talk with you down at the station.”
“Um, what’s this about? I haven’t done anything wrong.”
“We would simply like to ask you a few questions. Please come with us.”
Ethan hesitated as fear and confusion churned within him. He really didn’t like this situation, but he didn’t seem to have much of a choice. It would be best to do as he was told and not annoy the policemen. Who knew what they would do if he annoyed them?
“All right, officers. Let’s go,” Ethan replied as he stepped outside and shut the door behind him. There wasn’t anything he needed to grab. He had his personal device.
The policemen said very little as they escorted Ethan to their unmarked black car. He was placed in the back, which was separated from the front by bars, and the doors locked behind him as soon as they closed. There, he was left to stew in uncertainty and nervousness as the officers drove him across town. They passed many identical townhouses and small apartment buildings as they left the clean but desolate economic support district behind. Then, after a brief drive through a more vibrant employed area near the center of the city, they reached the bureau’s station. It was a squat grey building surrounded by a parking lot and a chain link fence. There was a very cold military look to the place that did nothing to help Ethan relax.
The car was waved through the gate by the guard and then it pulled up right in front of the station’s main entrance. The officers got out, but all Ethan could do was struggle with his fear since he was locked in the back of the car.
“Move,” the uniformed officer said as he opened the door and pulled Ethan out.
Ethan didn’t resist. He simply stayed silent and did as he was told. Once inside, they passed through the front room, which had a large information desk occupied by two uniformed officers. There were also a few nervous citizens standing around too, but this didn’t seem like a place people visited by choice.
After stepping through a side door, the officers led Ethan through a series of winding hallways. Their destination was a small interrogation room with plain grey walls. It contained two chairs and a small table. Ethan was deposited inside and told to sit down, which he did. The policemen then left him there alone.
Ethan was feeling incredibly nervous now. There was a sour taste in his mouth, and his stomach felt sick. The officers had said they just wanted to question him, but that was probably what they told everyone. Did they think he had committed some sort of crime? Or had Ethan somehow annoyed someone with power? No, he’d been keeping to himself lately. He was practically a hermit.
Frantically, Ethan looked around the room for anything to distract himself with, but it was basically a featureless closet with a large mirror on one wall. Undoubtedly, it was a one-way mirror. Were people watching him right now? Argh! What was going on?
After a few more agonizing minutes of waiting, the two policemen from before stepped back into the room. The one in the suit took a seat at the table across from Ethan, while the one in uniform stood rigid
ly beside him and glared coldly at Ethan.
While Ethan wilted under the officer’s gaze, the man in the suit placed a folder on the table and idly went through it. A few seconds later, he put it down and turned to look at Ethan. There was a smile on his face, but it didn’t reach his eyes.
“So, you’re Ethan Smith. Resident of 1498 Jasper Road, unit 12.”
“Yes, that’s me. How can I help you, officer?” Ethan replied as politely as he could. It was difficult not to stutter. His tongue felt fat and stiff.
“Hmm, it has come to our attention that you may have come into contact with technology banned by the proscriptions.”
Ethan paled a little. That was a serious charge. “I don’t see how that could be possible. I have barely left my home. All my time is spent on VR.”
The agent scowled in disapproval. “Lying to an officer of the law is a serious crime. Keep that in mind. The Bureau of Economic Harmony can revoke your economic support if it suspects you of selfishness or working against harmony. All the companies would then blacklist you, including the banks.”
“What? How would I live?” Ethan asked, aghast. That would make it impossible for him to keep his apartment or even buy food. It would be a death sentence. His family couldn’t even wire him money if the banks refused to process the transactions.
The agent chuckled darkly and sneered at Ethan. “Oh, don’t worry. You won’t starve or be allowed to live on the street and bother your betters with begging. That would be a crime. You’d be headed to prison then, where you’d get plenty of food and shelter. You just wouldn’t be allowed to leave.”
“What do you want?” Ethan stuttered nervously. Not a lot of information escaped from the bureau’s prisons, which was unsurprising considering the control the government had over the media, but they nonetheless had a bad reputation.
“Just, tell me everything you’ve been up to over the last four days. Everything you say will be recorded, and I will check it against our surveillance database. Any false statements may lead to criminal charges.”
Mind racing, Ethan did as he was told and blurted everything out. There wasn’t all that much to say. He really had spent almost all his time online. This answer didn’t appease the agent though. He scribbled on a piece of paper as Ethan talked, and his stiff expression remained the same.
“What about your online activities?” the man asked when Ethan was finished. “Why don’t you tell me all about what you’ve been up to on this game of yours?”
“Um, you want to know about Worldshift?” Ethan asked uncertainly.
“Yes, it might be possible you’ve encountered information about illegal technology while you played.”
Ethan hesitated. “Well, I don’t remember anything like that, but it’s hard to say. I mean, I’m not a programmer or a scientist, and it’s a virtual world full of sci-fi tech, but none of it is real. Are you looking for anything in particular?”
“Just go over everything you’ve done in the game, starting four days ago,” the man told him.
Unsure of what to do, Ethan hesitated again. Why would they want to know so much information about a game? This didn’t make any sense. There was also the mysterious message to consider, the one he’d gotten right before the police had shown up. It had told him not to say anything about the data key and that help was coming. The only thing it could have been talking about was the data key in the game. Would he get in trouble if he told the police about it?
Stalling for time, Ethan began to give a drawn-out description of some meaningless stuff he’d done online four days ago before entering the tower. He had barely started when the door opened and a new uniformed woman stepped into the room. She immediately headed to the man in the suit and whispered in his ear. Ethan couldn’t make out what she was saying, but it made the officer scowl angrily. Uh oh. This couldn’t be good.
The man in the suit turned to glare at Ethan. “Tell me about the data key. How did you get it and what information does it contain?”
Ethan froze. Hacks. He was screwed now.
“Um, I don’t know what you mean. I deal with a lot of keys in Worldshift. Which one are you talking about? Can you be more specific?” Ethan blurted.
The man in the suit’s glare grew cold and hateful. Ethan gulped when both the uniformed agents leaned down so that they loomed over him in a menacing fashion.
“Don’t lie to me, you little unemployed dreg. You’re nothing. I’ll destroy you if you don’t tell me the truth right now.”
Too terrified to speak, Ethan froze like a deer in headlights. His mind kicked into overdrive, but he couldn’t think of any way to get out of this situation. What was he supposed to do? If he told them about the key, they would probably lock him away somewhere anyway. The Bureau of Economic Harmony was rumored to make the people who were exposed to banned technology disappear.
As Ethan was considering what a government holding cell was going to be like, there was a commotion from the other side of the door. It sounded like raised voices. As he turned to see what was going on, the door swung open and revealed another man in a business suit. This new arrival was holding a briefcase, and his suit looked much nicer than the officers’. It was a navy blue that matched his striped tie and slicked-back blond hair.
There was a thunderous expression on his face as he looked around the room, but it wasn’t aimed at Ethan. Instead, the man’s gaze fell on the officer sitting across from him.
“This is an outrage! How dare you question my client without contacting his legal counsel.”
“Your client?” the agent hissed in disbelief. “Since when does a high-flying corporate lawyer like you represent dreg video game addicts?”
The lawyer met the man’s gaze with an even colder one. “Since today. All the paperwork is in order. You will now release my client without saying another word to him or I will file an official complaint about the blatantly improper things you’ve been up to here.”
The agent growled angrily and looked frustrated, so the lawyer turned toward Ethan. “Get up. We’re leaving.”
Tentatively, Ethan stood. No one moved to stop him, so he quickly hurried to the lawyer’s side. “Uh, thanks for—”
“Don’t say a word until we reach my car,” the blond man whispered as he grabbed Ethan’s shoulder and dragged him out of the room. There were two more uniformed officers in the hallway, but they quickly stepped out of the way.
“Huh, the investigator might have bitten off more than he can chew when he sent us after this kid,” one of the officers muttered.
“Seems like he was right about something fishy going on though,” the other replied as Ethan and the lawyer hurried away.
It didn’t take them long to reach the front entrance to the police building. There was a fancy-looking black car parked right outside the doors now, and the lawyer led Ethan right to it. He pulled the back door open and told Ethan to get inside and scoot over. Ethan did so, and the lawyer got in after him.
“All right, we can talk now,” the blond man said once he’d closed the door and they were both seated. “You wouldn’t believe all the types of surveillance government agents have access to, but this car is specially shielded.”
As the man was talking, the driver started the car and pulled away from the station. Ethan let out a deep breath and took a second to look around and relax from his ordeal. The inside of the car was quite luxurious. The seats were dark leather, and everything was sparkling clean.
“Um, so you’re my lawyer?” Ethan asked. It sounded dumb when he said it, but it was the first thing that popped into his head, and he wanted to know whose car he’d just gotten into. Usually, getting into cars with strangers was a no.
The blond man nodded politely. “Yes, my name is Carl. My services were acquired by Tekko on your behalf. The company was worried about competitors getting their hands on corporate secrets. The big corporations aren’t above using their government connections to put pressure on people such as you, and you have acce
ss to Tekko’s latest technology via the Worldshift game.”
“All right,” Ethan replied, baffled. That explanation didn’t sit well with him. It seemed to have a few holes in it, but he wasn’t going to question it. He was just glad they were speeding away from the angry government agents.
“Are you the one who sent me the message before the cops showed up?”
Carl shook his head. “No, and I have no idea what you’re talking about. That’s also how we should keep it.”
“So where are we actually going?” Ethan asked. Tekko had probably sent the message somehow without telling Carl. That was by far the most likely answer.
The lawyer smiled. “We’re taking you home. You shouldn’t have to worry about any more visits from the bureau. They know my office will be watching them like a hawk for any more improper actions like the shit they tried to pull back there.”
“So I just go on like nothing happened?”
“Yes, although I should remind you that you signed a non-disclosure agreement with Tekko while you were playing. Such contracts are legally binding. Don’t talk about what you experienced in the game until the contract expires.”
“Right, well thanks again for your help back there,” Ethan said as he held out a hand.
The blond lawyer shook his outstretched hand. “No problem. That’s my job. It was nice to meet you, Ethan. Try to stay out of trouble, but if you need any legal advice or if any more bureau goons show up, my contact information has been added to your personal device.”
The black car weaved through what little traffic there was on the road with ease, and they soon arrived at Ethan’s apartment. When the car pulled up along the side of the road, Ethan said goodbye to Carl and then stepped out. As soon as he shut the door, the black car pulled away. Its tinted windows prevented Ethan from seeing inside, but he watched it leave anyway.
Ethan continued to stare at the now-empty road even when the car was gone. Had that really just happened? The entire experience he’d just gone through felt completely unreal, like it had happened to someone else or like it was a VR experience. It was difficult to even wrap his head around the fact that he’d just been interrogated by government agents about a video game and then a fancy corporate lawyer had sprung him.
Worldshift- Virtual Revolution Page 17
