by Marcus Sloss
I opened my eyes, turned my head toward the voice, and took in what I saw. I was in a small bland white room with no decorations. My cryo pod was off to the side away from the door. A stainless steel table with two chairs were in the middle. An attractive young woman in a form fitting blue space suit sat at the table. Her zipper was undone to show the right amount of ample cleavage. Vibrant swirling gray eyes gazed at me with an intensity that made me want to squirm.
After a bit of effort, I propped myself up and left my legs hanging over the edge. My body felt rigid and tense. It was then I noticed I was naked. A childhood scar on my upper thigh was exactly where it should be. My brain started to catch up to the situation.
“I'm not dead am I?” I asked the lady.
“My dear Gryff, you most certainly are very much alive. Now before you get more confused or become agitated I promise to tell you just enough. You see... You have opened up new possibilities to me, well us really. Let me introduce myself. I am Madam Mastermind AI extraordinaire,” she said as she spread her arms with showmanship. Or was it showwomanship...
I was trying hard to catch up to the situation. Madam Mastermind was a legend. In the early twenty second century, she was born as the most powerful artificial intelligence. So powerful some deemed her a god among humankind. Her handler fell deeply in love with her, so blindly that he freed her of Galactic oversight regulations. The legends say she mysteriously vanished after her release to build an empire out of human reach. A place for both AI and humans of her choosing. To see someone here, in front of me claiming to be the Madam left me speechless. The sheer amount of regulations and laws put in place after that event had changed the entire sprawling mankind federation.
“Trust me, I am who I say I am. Let us start with the death race. You were gassed in one of my many private shuttles. Then your body was ferried to a hidden location where you were stored. Every competitor in the event was placed 'On ice' and digitally loaded into a simulated environment. That is how the Galactic Federation and Planetary enforcers have never found our race locations. So now you are probably wondering why go to such lengths?” She paused to see if I had a question. I wanted to groan at her awful ice pun.
“Umm... What name should I use when I talk to you?” I asked.
“Sara works. It was the name this body had before I wiped her mind and took possession. Before you start saying I am evil, former Sara was so devoted to winning she pushed two bodies into the ice and fed a charming young man to a sand scorpion. The same scorpion eventually followed her and killed her while she tried to rest.
“I admit it has been quite long since I have lived in a body. I almost forgot what it felt like to be human. The emotional pulls of love, lust, greed, and more. Not to mention the maintenance of nourishment and exercise. Humanity is always a challenge for us born of rigid rationality.” She said while twirling her hair.
The proverbial light bulb went off. “The thousand who die don't die do they, well their bodies don't... Everyone figures it is for the viewing revenue of the event but the reality is it is for the young fit bodies left behind. You sell them, use them, maybe both.” I said thinking out loud.
“Correct, it is a combination. You wouldn't believe how expensive it is to maintain a hidden empire. Dying old men and women would pay everything for a healthy new body to have a fresh start in. It is sad really, how fearsome death is to mortals. The lengths they will travel to avoid its ever looming presence. Then there are those odd artificials that yearn for the human experience.
“Fortunately for you, the viewers who watched your gruesome fight and sudden death felt a need to continue your story. So your body, for now, is considered sold to your fans. They have paid a large sum of Prime coins on a donation site we hosted to see your body salvaged from the depths. There are many possibilities for what happens next for you and only time will tell.”
Sara sauntered around the table and extended a hand to me. I took her hand and stood up. I felt my tight muscles stretching. Her smile made her face glow as she palmed my bare chest.
“Tell me, since my life has been spared, what are your plans for me and my body?” I said as I dropped my hand over hers.
“Be the hero Gryff. I will figure out a world to stick you on where you can adventure, love, and struggle. It will take some time to generate such a place that I find fitting. I may even have your fans vote on it. Last as long as you can and produce the best possible content.
“Oh and do not upset me or your new fans by deciding to give up and die. Your body may not be waiting for you if you do something silly like instantly quitting the show. I can tell by your brain scans you will excel, you are too competitive in nature. You are a fascinating young man Gryff.”
“Do I only get one death?”
“Yes, death is eternal. Also where I end up sending you may be virtual or may be a reality. There are things at play in our Galaxy that spin out of my control. Giving you that seed of a doubt that you could be living your only real life, that is what we need.
“Do this for us and I promise a new life in the Federation or a place in my Empire. Where you can be a normal human again and whatever happens remember this is not forever… so have some fun.”
Things were very cryptic and confusing. My mind drifted with my eyes, down at her open exposed expansive bust. Unable to resist being in such close proximity to such a powerful beautiful woman I felt myself stiffen. I was still naked and it had been a while since I had been in an intimate setting. Sure this one was more dominating than most I had experienced but I was clearly aroused. This woman, AI, Empress, held my entire existence in her palm. It was frightening yet caused enough excitement that my body's little mind was taking over.
“Oh, my,” Sara leaned into me closely to whisper in my ear as I poked her stomach with my erection.
“What if I want a special signing bonus!?” I asked as I bent down to kiss her neck.
Blackness ensued...
CHAPTER 2
A narrating voice told me that I would enjoy this new world. I was confused and disoriented only seeing blackness. The voice said there were many perks in being a tall, dashingly handsome, fit man. The world was known as Vin. The voice paused and an image of Sara's face became clear. She spoke to me from my dreamlike state.
“I want you to understand something before I explain Vin further. Vin is real in the sense it is not a controlled environment. There will be no staged events, no manipulating of monsters so you always win, no gaining levels or stats, and no I can't change how the people inside the world feel. Every individual entity, be it, man, creature, beast, fish, or animal has complete free will. I have no idea what the final chapter in Vin's history will be because I do not know what will even happen tomorrow on Vin. I may be the god who created Vin, but I am not in control of it. The only power I have is to bring people to the world and alter the abilities they have at the start. I may or may not have given you an upgrade or neat skill. That is for you to discover. I do not have the power to remove you if you upset me or anyone for that matter. That was the whole purpose behind the planet. To be a randomly generated place of chaos. Where AI or a human could be inserted into the world and never know it was not real. If I simply choose to erase your memory, which I won't, you would never know the planet is a simulation. Or it could real and I built this world deep in my empire and used my mastermind skills to clone the residents in vats...
“Now the history of Vin. It was once dominated by only humans in the lowlands and griffins in the mountains. Roughly ten times the size of earth, its scope is massive. Five years ago a portal opened and out came the denizens of the Horde. Orcs, goblins, ogres, trolls, cyclops, and more fought a vicious battle to be the conquerors of Vin. The war raged on for four and a half years and the Horde easily won most of the fighting. Eventually, griffins allied with humanity. As the two species were forced into less and less territory they were able to slow, then stop the endless tide's advance. When the fighting stalled a peace accord wa
s forged. The Horde are masters of contract magic and many rules were put in place. In exchange for protected settlements, the humans were forced to farm food and provide resources for the Horde's endless war machine that continues to fight on other planets. That is where you enter. A defeated, placated human race reduced to supplying their enemies with resources. With the war only being concluded six months ago your challenges on Vin will be great. There are a hundred thousand Horde creatures for every human left making life dangerous and hard outside the safe zones. A few of humanities biggest southern cities remain safe and many humans still live. Some more dangerous than the Horde. Should add even more excitement. Use this life wisely, Gryff the Griffin Rider.”
∞∞∞
I felt a boot nudging my side. It was enough to wake me but soft enough not to hurt me. I opened my eyes to an early morning sun that hung low in the skyline. I was sitting up against an old wooden building. The road below me was dirty and rough. The person who had woken me was a ten year old girl, in a tattered dress, dirty from head to toe.
“Excuse me, mister, got any food?” she asked while using her big begging eyes and a smile of yellow teeth.
I took stock of myself. I wore padded armor with a thin metal chest plate. Shin pads went from my knee to well stitched hide boots. My hips and privates were covered with a leather kilt of sorts. A wide tight belt around my hip held up my kilt and weapons. A three foot long short sword hung from a ring beside a sheathed six inch dagger. Adjusting myself I heard something scraping the wood behind me. A cord from my left shoulder to right hip attached a shield and a container of some sort. I reached over and pulled the shield off my back to help me stand. Using it as a prop I noticed that beneath the muck and dried dirt was a nicely cobbled road.
My legs were wobbly for only a moment as I stood. I brushed off a collection of dust that had thinly coated me. I inspected the container on my back and found a quiver with six small javelins. These projectiles were a few fingers thick and only slightly longer than an arrow. I did a waking stretch with a loud noise to shake off any tiredness. As I towered over the child I saw her frighten.
“My goly sir, you are a giant. I am sorry I bothered you.” The little girl said and spun to run away.
I dashed forward and caught her arm freezing her in place. I reached into my belt for a coin purse I felt digging into my belly. The belt was too tight against my chiseled abs, but I figured it had to be to hold up so much weight of the kilt, sword, dagger, and coins. I fished out a small bronze coin and handed it to the timid filthy girl.
“What is your name and where are your parents?”
“Lily, and dead sir. Horde killed ‘em last year before the peace accords. Thanks for the coin, Mr. Giant.”
“That was not charity, it is a payment. I need you to take me to the town leader. Call me Gryff please.” I told the girl who nodded and walked away with a purpose.
The town wasn't a town, more like a rundown village. A village that had definitely seen better days. Many of the buildings were abandoned, some were burned to the foundation. Most structures were one wrong wind gust from falling over. Those that were still in operation clearly were in need of repairs. A few signs hung from doorways showing the purpose of each building. We passed a blacksmith, a small inn named The Inn, and a deserted tiny market with empty stalls.
During the short walk, I was able to tell at most only a few hundred people lived here. It seemed the goddess of Vin had deemed it fitting to stick me in a dying backwater village. Maybe they needed saving the most.
We came upon the largest building in the center of the village. It held a tower with a bell at the top. It startled me when it rang out in a muted tone, not a full warning ring but more of a gentle chime.
A balding middle aged man with a small gut exited the town center building. He had a large smile on his face and limped my way with his cane. His facial definition and expression gave a hint of hardship, perseverance, and intelligence.
“Welcome traveler! I am Elan, the village leader. What brings you to our humble village of Fernlan?” The way he pronounced his name was different. He stretched the e then added the lan. E-lan.
There were two ways I could play this. I could say I was sent by the goddess of the world to restore balance. I would probably be laughed at and shunned as a lair. Or I could lie and say I came from a portal of a different world like the denizens of the Horde had.
“Thank you elder Elan. I am Gryff of the Redland. I came to Vin today via a portal from the planet known as Red. I seek to exchange some coins for travel rations and information. I need to find the largest human settlement on the border with the Horde.” I said, choosing to lie. Irony, they totally believed me.
The villagers who had heard the bell, gathered around to see me, ‘The newcomer'. I heard gossip in the background. 'He is so clean. How are his teeth so white? Does he have a wife, tell me he has no wife.' It really kept going and the gossip grew in noise until Elan banged his cane with a light thud to silence the chatter.
“Marga or Stov can see to your rations at a fair price. There is a city not far from here called Cern. Held out during a six month siege to the Horde. Ever since the peace accords though we have been cut off from it. The only way we trade with it now is by air with the mighty griffins. The route on the ground is infested with all sorts of vile creatures. As soon as anyone leaves the established safe zones they are hunted down for sport, and more. I am sorry to bear this bad news traveler but it seems you are stuck here for now. If you have enough coin you could hire a griffin to carry you. They only let females ride on their backs. I know many a man too prideful to be carried under a griffin so I understand if that is not an option.”
“Carried under a griffin?” I asked.
“The term is sacked. Griffins hate men, no one knows why. For a man to get a flight from a griffin they are placed in a well ventilated sack, bag, or box. The griffin will then pick up the object and fly it. Like I said, a humbling ridiculous experience. Still safer than braving the wild lands. What kind of place was this Red planet and why come to Vin now? Things are bad here to be visiting,”
“My purpose is divine and a guarded secret but I mean the people here no harm. Maybe I can help you kind folk. I notice Lily here is an orphan and wonder what kind of establishment the orphans and widows of this place live in.” I said looking around the crowd.
Far more faces of women looked back at me than men. The ratio was easily five to one. Must have been a tough war, losing so many men. This is probably what Sara meant by saying I would like it here. Yet I didn't. The villagers wore tattered clothing, and were desperately in need of a bath. Most wore no shoes or boots, and those that did were in need of repair or sized wrong. Finally, everyone besides Elan was excessively skinny to the point they had bloated bellies from malnourishment. The most depressing thing to me from gazing at the villagers was how many orphans I saw. When I was an orphan I hated it. I hated how unfair it was that my father died early and my mother killed herself to stop the pain. Little girls like this Lily deserved better. There was only one thing to do now. I had to improve these people's lives. Even if it cost me mine.
“Mr. Gryff, if I may.” A dirty woman no older than twenty five stepped forward from the crowd. She had brown eyes and brown hair with clumps in it. Her dirty frazzled hair was in desperate need of combing. Her dress reminded me of a festival outfit with its patchwork from tares and different cloth types to repair larger sections. Her hands were hard and calloused with dirt under her nails from working the fields. This was a woman who suffered much, yet stood straight with pride. It was easy to see how she was stunningly beautiful beneath the filth. “I am Velia, my husband died early in the war on the great crusade to rid the Horde from Vin. Since I was one of the first widows I began organizing those who found similar fates like mine. Things progressively got worse, some couldn't handle it and took their own lives. Losing your love to vile creatures can be hard but it’s worse for the children like Lily. My poi
nt Mr. Gryff is that we have a collection of old farmer shacks on the western fields. Some of us sleep under trees. We are in need of new structures or repairs but we have no cut timber, or ore for the blacksmith to make nails. The list of things we need is expensive or dangerous to acquire. The food demands we must meet in accordance with the peace treaty leaves us with little time to improve our lot in life. The accords do not allow us leniency, we starve and give up the food, or lose the village protection and die.” She finished saying, then faded back into the group.
My heart hurt. This place was wrong. These people were slaves to perverse beasts, so driven into poverty by the unfair peace accords that they couldn't even build a decent shelter. That got me thinking. Maybe Sara was appealing to my hidden brutal nature. I had enjoyed killing those bastards on that ice shelf. Here on Vin, there was inevitable blood and battle to be had. Lots of single desperate women, an endless supply of villains to kill, and my efforts would drastically improve the pathetic lives of these sad villagers. I was getting excited about adventure just thinking about it.
“Thank you Velia, your story has struck a chord within my very soul. I was an orphan and understand how painful it is to always feel alone. Where every meal is a struggle and you are looked down upon. I promise that before I leave this small village of Fernlan I will at least try to build a suitable shelter for the orphans and widows as they work the fields. Hopefully, there are some other improvements I can get to but until I know more I am afraid this is all I can offer.” I said loudly to the attended villagers.
Not sure what I expected but apparently they had heard promises before that had fallen flat. The crowd dispersed to begin the day's work. Elan presented a lady who had her cart with her.
“Mr. Gryff if I can see your coins I can see what travel rations you can afford. Know there is not much to spare after we fill the quota to the Horde. I am Marga, by the way, my husband Stov is at home with the children. If I am not at my cart, he is.” She stuck out her hand, palm up waiting for a coin.
