Val raised his eyebrow at this, and she quickly waved away his offer to help. "No need, Valor. I find domesticity a comfort. It is one way I give back to my family, and the man who takes such good care of me."
Andrey flushed, even as his wife flashed a teasing grin, flouncing off to the kitchen with a sprightly step befitting a woman half her age. Val grinned. Andrey was a lucky man indeed.
Before he knew it, he found himself gazing upon a gamer's dream. Multiple interlinked towers and a triple 4k monitor setup, high-end mice, microphones, and headsets, Julia's screensaver nothing less than their final epic battle together playing Elerium, displaying on what were obviously linked next-gen graphics cards so high-end it looked like a scene from a movie. All of it left Val momentarily breathless with envy. Then he grinned and winked as Julia blushed.
"Not what you thought an amateur girl's setup would be, Val?"
Val smiled. "I knew you were 'leet from the get-go. But yeah, this setup impresses the hell out of me. And your surround sound is studio quality."
Julia grinned. "My walls are also insulated. I'll tell you a secret, Val," she said, stepping close to him, holding his hand with her left as she gestured with her right. "My room used to be my mother's studio. She says she sang just for fun, but I swear it was professional quality. It's a shame she stopped when I got older. Now it's perfect for adapting into the dream gaming center, even if I mostly just used it to watch my favorite movies. That is, until I discovered Elerium." Her hands squeezed his own. "And you," she whispered, her soft gaze locking upon his own.
Val swallowed, heart racing, feeling an indescribable connection with the beautiful, vulnerable girl before him, breath turning ragged as flashes of dreams long forgotten suddenly echoed in his mind's eyes. A younger version of himself, much as he now was, riding in her cherry red convertible and sharing dreams of their future together, a beautiful day at the mall ending in a nightmare that never happened.
Flashes of a blissful smile and crimson tears, her dressed in an ivory white slimsuit, he running on fiery legs in a desperate bid to save her, even as a hideous monster strove to enslave both their minds.
Val shuddered and looked away.
"Val, what happened?"
He looked up, meeting her inquisitive gaze. "Odd flashes of dreams I had. Think I had." He chuckled softly. "It was not an easy awakening. I think maybe my brain's still recovering from that coma."
Julia's gaze widened with concern. "I heard about that. Mom's telomere cocktail, how carefully dad and your father were keeping an eye out for you, without tipping their hand. And when the power went out..." She swallowed. "I had a bad feeling, Val, very bad."
Val nodded. "I woke up to a man trying to kill me." He flashed a bleak smile. "Things did not go according to plan."
Julia's eyes flashed with sudden heat. "Bloody bastard! What kind of monster attacks someone trapped in a coma?"
Val smirked. "I'm working on that. He was a hitman, that much I'm sure of, and don't worry, he took his last job when he came for me."
Julia gasped. "Oh no. Val, if they struck at you directly, we're all in danger."
Val frowned. "I hope not. Our fathers made a pretty convincing argument on why the masterminds behind the kidnappings don't want to press too hard. If they strike at us, they'll be going down in flames right alongside us. At least, that's the impression I got."
Julia nodded. "But what if we're wrong?"
Val grimaced. "Then it's best if we strike first, of course."
She smiled. "I know that's something you're good at."
"And it could be the work of another party entirely."
"What do you mean?"
Val swallowed. "When I was in the service, I did a lot of things I'm not proud of. I felt they were right at the time. Hell, I still do, but there is a weight on your soul when you embrace the savagery of war. It might not hit you right away, when you're reveling in the darkness that is your survival, savoring sweet furious victory over those who would kill you, but eventually it hits you. If you have a shred of your soul left, eventually all that blood catches up to you." He turned away, unable to bear her concerned gaze.
"It's always possible someone got a clue as to who I am. I was in a coma for I don't know how many months. And I look more like I did when I first joined the service than when I came out. Fresh-faced and new, matching my old military ID. If my picture had made it into any papers or e-journals, all it takes is one bastard with a score to settle and it suddenly all makes sense."
Julia frowned. "So that's why Father got absolutely furious when one of the hospital's PR people wanted to do a special on the 'miracle survivor.' Her idea was shot down fast, but maybe someone had done an article or two, anyway."
Val nodded. "Maybe."
"So what will you do now?"
Val smiled. "Wait to see if leads pan out with the don I made nice with, and I'll see if an old friend can make heads or tails of a few numbers I copied off the hitman's burner phone. In the meantime, I'm keeping a low profile. No one else knows where I am, save my father and your family."
Her eyes widened. "You made nice with a don the same night a hitman tried to kill you?"
Val grinned. "What can I say? I was busy last night. Now enough about me. I know you've gone through a hell of an ordeal, and if you need a friend to talk to, I'm here."
Julia smiled. "I know. But I sure as hell am not going to bore you with stories of how every day I wake up feeling crushed by awful melancholy, the happiness I took for granted, that came so easily to me when I was younger, torn away when those damned bastards fried my brain like a girl high on crack and heroin for a year straight, suddenly crashing, forgetting how to feel anything but black despair and withdrawal."
Val winced. "I'm sorry, Julia. I really am."
She swallowed and nodded, closing the distance between them. "It's been a nightmare. But slowly, my brain's recovering. A bit. I'm getting better. Mother's treated addiction and malnutrition among other things, and you'd be surprised how huge a percentage of depression can be treated just by giving people magnesium citrate twice a day. It's involved in hundreds of metabolic pathways, and besides being crucial to all your organs, is a major precursor involved in the formation of those neurotransmitters that tell your brain 'hey, relax and enjoy life, feel good about what you've accomplished today' not 'life's a bleak hell, let's just end it.'"
Val nodded. "Magnesium sounds like a win."
She grinned. "Average person gets half of what our ancestors did. Half. That and fish oil and a B supplement and, well, I won't bore you telling you how many millions of people suffering depression that treatment could save. I'll just say that slowly I'm feeling almost human again. Not happy, but at least now I feel like some things are worth living for. Worth fighting for. My future. The people I care about."
She stepped closer, clasping his hand with her own. "I know you don't remember, Val, but I do. Some of it, the hideous ecstasy, the horror of being used by alien people looking too perfect, faces too symmetrical, eyes that glittered like jewels. Some of them had eyes that bored into your brain, others were as much cyborg as human with half their skulls covered in chrome and cyber ports just like the ones they drilled into my poor head."
She touched her chrome sockets and shuddered. Val gently pulled her hands away, holding them with his own.
She smiled shyly up at him. "My parents like to think those monsters were just the product of my tortured, damaged brain." She blinked away hot, bitter tears. "They used me, Val. They took my innocence, they used my body, they damaged my mind. I'll never forget, or forgive what they did to me, even as I ache for that awful bliss they infected me with to this day. But I'm not going to give up, Val. I'm going to fight. I'm going to get better, and I'm going to live a life I can be proud of, no matter what comes my way."
Val swallowed, feeling choked up and fiercely proud of Julia's resolve. "You're going to make it, Julia. I know you will."
"Only thanks to you," Ju
lia whispered, her soft hand stroking his cheek, leading his lips to her own.
Their kiss was like sweetest fire.
Broken by a polite knock on the door.
Julia stepped back with an impish smile before turning towards the computer once more. "Quick, hold this," she said, passing Val a high tech VR helm that looked strangely familiar. "Don't worry," she said. "It's been customized by a Chinese black cat outfit. One of the best."
Val blinked at that.
She rolled her eyes. "VR Excelsior? The leader in VR Helms? These are what their own specialists use when troubleshooting their system or otherwise getting up to mischief they don't want the Chinese government or anyone else knowing about. Trust me, Val, you won't find safer, more anonymous helms anywhere."
Val considered the helm as Julia opened the door, her mother sharing quiet words before stepping inside, a warm hand squeezing Val's shoulder. Val turned around, the perfect imitation of a gamer lost in the wonder of new tech, and Christine's gaze made it clear that she wasn't fooled for a second. She was nice enough to consider the helm in his hand, however.
"Top of the line and customized. Andrey got them for Julia and me as a way for us to bond after, well, Julia began to recover." Julia rolled her eyes at that. "I was hoping the excitement of playing a fully immersive game would help stimulate her, give her a focus, something to look forward to after working with me all day."
Julia grinned. "And it worked, Mother. This helm opened up a whole new world for me. Gave me something to look forward to when trying to wrap my head around coursework became too much, on top of everything else."
Her mother nodded. "Best of all, no reports of negative neurological consequences, for all that there may be some social ones. My only regret, really, is that they don't work well for me."
Val looked up at this.
Christine grimaced. "I enjoy playing a casual game or two, a great way to bond, but after that, I start to feel a bit dizzy. And the game my girl loves most..." she sighed. "I can't access at all. Frankly, I'm surprised you can, Julia."
Julia nodded. "So am I. Surprised, and grateful. From what I read on Readit and the deep web, Exalted was a roaring success for the first year it was live, and their making it such an exclusive game was no doubt a part of that. There were plans to open the gates to expand from thousands to hundreds of thousands of players, but then, well, all the servers crashed."
"All the servers crashed? That sounds suspicious," Val said.
Julia nodded. "Suspicious as hell, supposedly on the very day we were all discovered in that warehouse. And what's oddest is that the servers never came back online, and the company hasn't issued a single statement since." Her gaze grew distant. "At least, not officially."
Val gazed at the helmet, then back at Julia. "There's more to it than that, isn't there?"
Julia grinned. "It seems a select few, with very strong drive, or will, or luck, can free-float their way into the game."
Val frowned. "What does that even mean?"
Julia turned on her computer, and immediately a high-pitched hum could be heard, faint enough Val wouldn't have noticed if he weren't paying attention. "I found the frequency on the deep web. It's easy enough if you keep your ID clean and follow the breadcrumbs. Even if the main servers went down, for those who can tune in to the right frequency, you can still jack into the game. At least you can with top-notch VR helms. Wild, huh?"
Val frowned, looking at Christine, then Julia. "Are you sure this is safe?"
Julia shrugged. "The voltage in the helm is limited, Val, and these higher end helms have an escape word you call out for an immediate disconnect if something goes wrong, for any game. What could possibly happen?"
She clicked her mouse, and Val could tell she was using a number of security measures. She flashed him a smile. "I learned from the best." And before he could respond, Val found himself gazing down at what looked like a planet from space, the image wavering in and out. He was awed by the special effects. It looked so much like planet Earth, yet was clearly different. But what he found most remarkable was the moon just cresting the horizon, nothing like the cratered sphere of battered stone revolving around Earth, but one Val could tell even as a sliver on the screen possessed atmosphere and ocean. A living planet, just like the one below. Val felt an odd shiver race down his spine.
Julia gazed at him intently. "You feel it too, don't you?"
"Feel what?"
"That this game is special. Even just gazing at the opening scene, look at the detail! This is nothing like any game you've played before."
Val smiled. "That remains to be seen. All I see right now are Phoebe and Jordia. Two planets does not a game make."
Julia gazed at Val with surprise. "Val?"
"Yes?"
"How do you know their names?"
Val blinked, open his mouth to answer, but nothing came out. "I don't know," he said at last.
Julia smirked. "Well, all you'll ever see on the computer is Jordia below. No starter zones on Phoebe. But this is the page you need open to jack yourself into the game." She fiddled with his helmet. "There. Your frequency matches this one, now." She smiled and handed him her VR headset. "Anyway, I'd love to see if you have what it takes to join me in playing the most realistic game ever to hit the market, and probably the most discriminating as well."
"How so?"
"Because most people can't jack in," her mother explained, patting Val's shoulder. "I had mixed feelings, Val. You are our guest, and not everyone can use a VR headset without feeling considerable fatigue and disorientation. Some even suffer seizures."
Val waved away the concern. "No worries on my end. No history of seizures and I rarely suffer vertigo, even on the choppiest seas or when flying low."
Christine nodded, though her eyes held a certain amount of concern. "Alright, then. I'll admit, if you were able to find this mysterious server and adventure with Julia, well, it would be a relief knowing that a close friend of Julia's was there with her. I'll tell your father, Val." She flashed a bemused smile. "You two enjoy yourselves, I'll be back in a little while." Invitation and warning all at once.
Julia nodded. "Okay, but remember, mom, if he can actually jack in, you and John can't disturb him! Character creation can be a bit intense, and those reports of people having bad reactions mostly happen when they are jostled out of their first play session."
Her mother's frown deepened. "Honey, when you put it like that..."
"We'll be fine, mom," Julia urged, gently shooing her mother out the door after she plucked the helm from Val's hand and plopped it on his head.
A warm hand gripped his shoulder. "The emergency word is 'parachute.' No reason to say it in game otherwise, and it's sort of system standard. Don't worry, I'll be right there with you," she whispered. "Just open your eyes and follow the sound."
6
Val saw only darkness and was about to take his helmet off when he heard soft rustling nearby, smelling a sharp floral scent that seemed a cross between honeysuckle and pine, strangely familiar. Had Christine brought tea?
"Julia, I'm going to take this off now," he said, realizing that he sounded different. Strange. But when he went to lift up his visor, he felt only closed eyelids, opening them abruptly.
"What the hell?" he whispered, both confused and awed, only to find that he was no longer sitting, but rather standing upright in a vat of yellowish gloop, goosebumps suddenly popping up on his skin. He whistled in amazement, gazing around, finding himself in a futuristic looking building of stone inlaid with chrome and a shimmering bronze gold alloy. The ceiling arched high above him, a strange sourceless silver light washing the giant chamber he found himself in.
This part of the massive room was all but empty, though he made out what looked to be several naked people also emerging from vats across the great chamber. Their vats appeared lit up, unlike his own, soothing voices over the loudspeakers talking to them in accented English as attendants in uniforms immediately walked
up to them and bowed, presenting shimmering ivory and black uniforms and what looked to be holstered guns, rifles, and in one case, a sword, before grabbing the newly emerged player's hands and leading them to what appeared to be a trio of showers.
Val blinked and frowned, seeing nothing like that in his corner of the grand chamber, not even a towel. He grimaced and stepped out of the vat, looking around him, catching sight of one of the uniformed servitors finally noticing him. He did not look happy.
Val was surprised to see such a cold expression when he was clearly in the starting area of the game. And this game was beyond cutting edge. He swore he could feel the chill of the stone floor, smell the fruity aroma of the yellowish slime he had emerged from, the circulating breeze sending chills down his spine. Probably because he was naked and covered in drying slime.
Congratulations! You're alive! Not what they were looking for when they forged these vats, but when have other people's opinions ever mattered to you?
When indeed, Val thought, feeling a curious tingle of excitement as the hostile looking uniform approached. His stare grew more alarmed as he glanced about Val, making eye contact with someone in the distance. "What is a simulacrum doing at this consolidation point? This pod is no longer connected. It should no longer be open to spirits!"
Val frowned at the man. His words sounded strange, conveying his meaning with just a handful of syllables, yet Val understood their meaning perfectly.
"What character paths are available to me?" Val asked.
The man blinked in profound surprise. "How do you know our language?" he whispered, ire giving way to alarm.
Cypher check made! What is language but the utterance of sounds to convey meaning? And this fellow's meaning is crystal clear! I'd get out if I were you, Val, the sooner the better!
Val smiled at the man, then proceeded to ignore him, heading across the grand chamber to the showers and the piles of gear laid out for the current occupants.
"You, stop! You're not supposed to be here!" Said the increasingly irate figure scurrying in Val's wake, Val focused only on the closest pile of gear with the sword, grabbing a towel and wiping away as much of the strange yellow gloop he could from his hair, face, and torso before putting on the nearest uniform and strapping on the blade.
Endless Online: Oblivion's Price: A LitRPG Adventure - Book 3 Page 9
