by Trent Reedy
“Stop it!” Rogan threw himself at the larger viper, knocking him back a few steps. The two of them locked arms and wrestled around as water began running in around their feet.
Finally, Jacqueline splashed in, stepping around the two of them. “I can disconnect it. Give me a sec.” It was as if this whole part of the game had been programmed especially for her. She tapped and swiped at the air in front of her, working the menus and submenus her computer systems offered her. After thirty seconds of study, she understood the procedure, and, deploying tools from both arms, began cutting, unbolting, uncoupling, and disconnecting the power system that was their objective.
Tank finally pushed Ranger aside and rushed toward Engineer. “It’s mine! I’m winning this!” He took three big steps before Ranger nailed him in the back with a fierce jump kick, sending the bigger viper down faceplate-first.
Water was up to their knees now. For a moment, Jacqueline wished her viper mod came equipped with more powerful weapons so that she could shoot both of these idiots who were endangering the whole mission. She pointed at the last cable. “Listen! When I disconnect this, the engines will stop, and the ship will sink even faster. We’ll have to hurry to get out in time.”
“Flyer! Healer! What’s your status?” Rogan called to the others.
“I hope there’s not much fighting left to do, because I’m seriously low on power. We’ve loaded a ton of guys onto the lifeboats,” Flyer answered. “The captain is knocked out, but the first officer says they have everyone accounted for.”
“You speak Chinese?”
“Viper translation software, dummy,” Flyer said.
Tank started to get up, but Rogan held his lasers next to the big guy’s purple visual sensor. “I have forty-four percent power remaining. You keep fighting, and I swear, I will unload all of it in a laser beam through your head.”
“I heard Engineer,” Tank said. “I’m ready to go.”
Rogan nodded to Engineer. “Pull it. Let’s get out of here. We’ll cover you in case there are any drones or anything left.”
When Engineer cut the final cable, they all heard the rumbling of the engines die down, a stillness settling on the doomed ship. The water began rising faster. It was up to their waists as they waded out of the engine room. Rogan was about to remind Engineer to hold the Tian Li up to keep it dry, but saw she had it covered. One corridor was so flooded that they were submerged over their heads.
“Keep holding that thing up, Engineer,” Rogan said to her. It was weird being able to talk underwater.
“I got it.”
Finally, the five laser vipers gathered on the canted deck of the Tianjin as she sank. Lifeboats held her crew in a sad circle around their once-proud warship.
The SR-73 StarScreamer jump ship signaled it was nearly within range, and the gamers blasted off, their exfil rockets launching them up into the brilliant sunlight of the dawn, their mission complete.
Rogan’s grandpa Webber was a gamer from way back. His basement was a shrine to video game history, featuring nearly every system ever made, including an old arcade Pac-Man table game. He had the Atari 2600, Nintendo Entertainment System, Sega Genesis, Super Nintendo, Nintendo 64, Sega Saturn, Nintendo GameCube, and all generations of PlayStation and Xbox. For him, it had become less about playing the hundreds of games he owned and more about collecting rare functional games and systems that had been such a big part of his whole life.
Sometimes Grandpa Webber would fire up one of the older consoles and challenge Rogan to play. Sure, some were tough because the graphics were so bad that a gamer could hardly tell what he was looking at, and a lot of the real old games simply didn’t work that well or were just lame. That was a big part of why Rogan definitely preferred the virtual reality experience of normal modern games. But ancient games were different. Many of them were really hard. Lots of times their characters would die even if the enemy barely touched them. And while in the campaign modes for Halo: Vengeance VR, Call of Duty: Full Immersion, or Laser Viper a gamer could get his character to a checkpoint so that if he died, he didn’t have to start over, in the old games, players would begin with three or four lives and hope to find extra lives along the way. The first Super Mario Bros. drove Rogan crazy. Once he’d fallen down a pit or been hit by one of Bowser’s fireballs for the last time, it was the end.
Now he wondered if, after that last game round, it would be game over for him.
Rogan jumped when someone knocked on his helmet, and he felt the cool air brush his warm skin when he pulled it off. Then he stepped back.
Shaylyn smiled right in his face, that blue streak in her hair sweat-pressed to her neck. “You hiding in there?”
She’d said it as a joke, with none—or not much—of their old rivalry, but Rogan only found it annoying. “No!” he said a little too loudly. He was very aware of the cameras, since a half dozen cambots rolled around them, recording everything they did and said, from every angle.
Jacqueline was already out of her game suit, a little sweat in the armpits of her simple red T-shirt. “Nice job,” said their Engineer.
“You’re the one who got the Tian Li,” Shaylyn said.
That truth burned deep inside Rogan. “Yeah, Jacqueline. That thing was a lot more complex than I thought it would be. You disconnected it fast.”
“You can call me Jackie. My friends do. And the Tian Li?” She shrugged. “You found it in the first place.”
Takashi joined their circle, a little quieter than usual, his smile forced, like a decoration left up after the party was over. “That was great, you guys.”
Beckett stood off by himself, glaring at them all.
Mr. Culum stepped up to the angry Tank, reaching out like he was about to pat him on the back, but stopping just short of actually touching him. “Well done!” He smiled. “All of you are amazing. I have no doubt that we chose the exact right gamers for the Laser Viper Final Challenge. I’ve worked in the video game industry for many years now. I’ve been very close to Laser Viper’s design, and I’ve never seen the game played so well. I hope the experience was just as impressive for all of you.”
Sophia appeared behind them, wearing a dress printed with a rainbow array of different brightly colored rectangles. “You are the first gamers in the world to complete a stage in the game suits. I agree with Mr. Culum, absolutely. You really are all the best!”
Rogan looked around at the others, trying to see if they were falling for all this huggy, everybody-gets-a-trophy kind of talk. Beckett folded his arms and rolled his eyes. Some of the gamers hid their true feelings better than others. Sophia didn’t seem to notice Beckett’s attitude, but the cambot in front of him wasn’t missing anything, and Rogan thought about how ridiculous the guy would look on the reality show. He forced himself to smile for the cameras.
X entered the arena. “Unfortunately,” he continued where Sophia had left off, “our job is to choose the best among you, and that means that tonight, one of you will say goodbye and leave the competition.”
Sophia tilted her head a little, wearing a big sad frown. “So let’s go back to the dorms while our judges deliberate. And while we wait, I’ll be interviewing each of you about your experiences so far in … the Laser Viper Final Challenge!”
Back in the commons, the gamers, thirsty from fast, tense VR action in warm game suits, chugged PowerSlam Liquid Energy drinks and settled in for an awkward wait, surrounded by cameras at all times.
Sophia opened the sixth door in the curved wall of the commons. The gamers had been curious about it and gathered around to peek through. It led to a dorm room that was unoccupied, given there were only five gamers. It had been set up with two chairs facing each other and some lights shining on what must have been the “hot seat,” the chair where each gamer would sit and answer questions for the reality show. Sophia flashed a grin. “Jacqueline. Let’s start with you.”
• JACQUELINE “JACKIE” SHARPE
What does this contest mean t
o me? I like video games. In games, there’s always a solution. At first I might not be able to activate a drawbridge or open a certain door in a dungeon. But after a while, I can figure it out. I like the Laser Viper Final Challenge because of all the characters I’ve played as a gamer, Master Chief, Dr. Crexar, Mario, Link, whoever … the engineer viper lets me use my best skills. I love fixing things. I love making things work. My parents always talk about how important it is to be self-reliant. They wouldn’t buy me an Xbox. But I found a broken one in a pawn shop for cheap. I found some videos online, and those helped me learn to fix its power supply system and replace the disc reader. It took forever, but I got it working, and for a quarter of the price of a new one. Solving tough technical problems. That’s the best.
I study a lot. I’m in some advanced classes. Sometimes people at school don’t like that. I don’t know why. They make fun of me or just ignore me. But when I’m Engineer, I can work machines or build something that helps my fireteam. And they … You know. I mean, they don’t make fun of me for that.
• BECKETT EWELL
I’m going to win this whole thing. Believe me. You saw me. I was the best. I took out so many of the enemy. I could have destroyed the whole ship myself. Yeah, the others were there. But honestly, they just kind of get in my way. Me winning this contest will prove to everyone that I’m the best gamer in the [BEEP]ing world! Yeah, and the money will be awesome. I’m going to buy plane tickets, go see my dad, and we’re gonna play so many video games. So, I don’t know what you want me to say. There are no second chances. That’s how I play video games. Winner takes all. Bring on the next round. Bring on the championship!
• TAKASHI ENDO
When I was nine, my older brother was in a bad car accident. He could have died. I thought he was going to…. So anyway, my whole family was at the hospital all the time for a long time, and these doctors saved my brother’s life. I remember when he first woke up, first talked to us again, and I remember thinking how that wouldn’t be happening if these doctors had not done what they’d done.
So I want to be a doctor. That’s why I chose to play Laser Viper as Healer. I know that fixing shot-up robots in a video game isn’t the same as saving a real life, but I like helping the people on my fireteam. I like when they’re so happy to get back in the action. I liked what Mr. Culum said about VR and robots used in surgery on real people. I’d love to be involved in that. I could control a medical robot in a village somewhere or on a battlefield in a war the same way I control my laser viper in the game. So maybe it sounds weird, but I do feel like this contest means a lot to my life. And I know medical school isn’t cheap, so the prize money would help …
• SHAYLYN SPERO
The money would be nice, and it’ll be radicool when this show airs. Shout-out to all my friends back in Chi-town! Oh, are we not supposed to say things like that? Sorry. I’m just having fun. Same thing with the video game contest. I’m gonna do the best I can, and I’ll have a good time. I try to bring my best game whenever I play. I guess you could call me a serious gamer or whatever. Like some guys act like girls can’t play or something, but while they’re talking trash, I’m working on playing a better game. That’s all I’m saying. Having fun. Playing a better game. The money and game credits. Oh, and, um, I totally want to beat Rogan.
• ROGAN WEBBER
I want to be the best. Games are kind of my life. They are for my dad too, but we hardly ever play the same games. I’ve asked to play with him, to join his guild, but he says I’m too young, that I have to be a better gamer. It drives me crazy. Still, I play all the time. If I—when I win this contest, my dad will see I’m ready for anything any game can throw at me. Then hopefully he and I will take on a lot more games together.
At home, my parents are real busy. Everyone in my house has their thing, and gaming is mine.
Sorry. I’m nervous talking to this cambot.
I’m mad that I didn’t get the Tian Li, but, I don’t know. I wish I knew how this contest was scored. I thought I did pretty good. I know I did. I might not have secured the objective, but I found it, and I kept Tank from destroying it. Beckett thought he was taking me out, knocking me off the ship during the combat drop. Show me another viper who can figure out how to get into the ship through the torpedo tubes.
I usually play pretty hardcore. If you can’t keep up, get off my fireteam, you know? But I feel like this part of the game was designed to require a whole team. We needed Engineer to disconnect the energon cell. I couldn’t have done it. Beckett almost destroyed it. We needed Shay to fly up and scramble the ship’s communications. Beckett plays hardcore too, only he almost cost us the mission. I hope the next round isn’t so team focused. I don’t like being forced to rely on everyone else.
A few hours after the interviews and after more than a couple nervous stop-and-start conversations among the gamers, Sophia and X returned to the commons. They both stood to the right of the giant screen at the front of the commons room. The five gamers were lined up shoulder to shoulder along a faint line on the floor on the other side. Cameras in the ceiling had rotated to the ready. Five cambots buzzed around.
“Now comes the difficult part, when we must say goodbye to one of our gamers.” Sophia’s smile glowed even while her words dripped with sadness. “Our judges have carefully analyzed each candidate, and they’ve come to a decision. When your image and name appear on the screen, you are safe, and you will be going on to the next round of the Laser Viper Final Challenge.” She paused for several seconds and focused her gaze on each gamer down the line.
There was something very strange about being under the lenses of all these cameras, of being watched and judged by Sophia, X, and Mr. Culum. Rogan wondered what he would look like on the reality show. He was suddenly concerned with how he should stand, what appearance he should present. Another hazard of real life, magnified by being filmed for reality TV.
At last, Sophia took a deep breath, and her smile finally vanished. “The first person who is safe and moving on to the next round of Laser Viper Final Challenge is—”
Rogan squeezed his Zelda shield pendant, wishing with all the power of the Triforce that Sophia would call his name.
“—Jacqueline Sharpe! Our Engineer!” Sophia said. Jackie’s name and picture blazed giant on the screen, and her tense face broke into a small smile. Sophia held out her hand. “Come on over here and join Xavier and me.”
Jacqueline crossed in front of the screen, and Sophia reached out to put her arm around her shoulders in one of those fake half hugs.
“Good job, Jackie,” Shaylyn said.
“Way to go,” said Takashi.
Beckett whispered to Rogan. “In second place, Beckett—”
“The second person moving on to the next round is—” Her dramatic pause was shorter this time. “Shaylyn Spero!”
Shaylyn gasped and jumped a little. She hugged Takashi and then moved to join Jackie.
“What?” Beckett said a little louder than a whisper. “This is crap.”
Rogan watched his shoes.
“The next person moving on is Takashi Endo!” Sophia gushed.
“Yes!” Takashi ran over to the others and slapped Shaylyn a high five.
“Now,” Sophia said. “Rogan. Beckett. There was a lot of tension between the two of you, even some fighting in round one of the game. You are both great gamers, but the judges feel one of you has a slight edge over the other. Only one of you will be moving on to continue play in the Laser Viper Final Challenge. For the other, the adventure ends in just a moment.” The serious face she’d put on mirrored Rogan’s. He’d seen enough of these reality shows. When people saw this part of the episode, there’d be dramatic music building up, until it stopped long enough for Sophia to deliver the bad news.
“Rogan Webber. You … are … safe and moving on to the next round!”
By tomorrow he’d be home. His mom would put her arm around him and say something lik
e, “It’s the effort that counts.” Dad would tell him how he’d done a good job, but he’d have the same look in his eyes as when he explained Rogan wasn’t quite ready to join his gaming guild. His Virtual City apartment? Forget about it. He’d be homeless in Virtual City, or sitting around bored in his parents’ house while they did other things. Only his fuzzy buddy Wiggles would truly support him.
“Rogan!” Shaylyn hissed. He looked up. Shay clapped her hands and then motioned him closer. “Come on!”
Sophia laughed. “It looks like one of our gamers is a little nervous. Congratulations, Rogan. You’re safe!”
His feet seemed to take over automatically, and in one blur of a moment, he’d moved from the loser area to be among the winners. Takashi fist-bumped him. Jackie patted his back. Shaylyn rolled her eyes, obviously pretending to be annoyed with him. “Pay attention, Ro!”
“What?” Beckett shouted. “This is crap! I was right in there getting the power cell thing! I did better than any of these turkeys!”
One cambot rolled over to cover Beckett’s outburst, zooming in to pick up the increased moisture in his eyes. The other two cambots watched the four winners.
Sophia tilted her head to one side and made a big pouty face. “Hmm, I’m sorry you feel that way, Beckett, but I’m afraid our judges don’t agree. You can take a moment to say goodbye to your fellow gamers, and then you need to head to your room to pack. Xavier will be taking you home right away.”
“I’m not saying goodbye to these turds!” He shouted at Sophia until his face was red, but her pitying smile didn’t change. This only made Beckett angrier. “They’re too pathetic to even be called gamers.”
X stepped up in front of Beckett, separating him from the others like a thick brick wall. He motioned toward Beckett’s room. “Come on. You’re done.”
Beckett backed away from everyone, wiping his eyes. “This contest is rigged! It’s all a joke. You’re all jokes!” He stopped just before he slammed the door to his room. “Turkeys!”
“That boy has some serious anger management issues,” Shay said.
