Viridian Gate Online: Nomad Soul: A litRPG Adventure (The Illusionist Book 1)
Page 33
“The transition can be difficult on the body, and heat regulation is important. Removing some items of clothing can help us do that at a lower cost.”
There Osmark goes with the costs. Of course, do it fast, do it well, do it cheap. He wanted every point on the iron triangle, and he got it. Not by noble means, but he got it. This game would be amazing, a technical wonder, completed by slave labor and crime. Who would oppose him at the end of the world, though?
I unbuttoned my shirt, removed my flats, then my slacks, and hopped up into the tanning bed gone VRMMORPG simulator. I took my last breath in this world and closed the lid with the touch of a button.
It was dark for a moment, and as the machined whirred to life, so did the white loading screen. “Hello, I’m the CEO of Osmark Technologies, Robert Osmark, and I’d like to personally welcome you to Viridian Gate Online, the most advanced full-immersion video game in the world.” Osmark’s voice was unmistakable.
I blinked hard, and his face came into view. Such a retro, Steve Jobs look. Thin-rimmed, round glasses, dark turtleneck, and shaggy hair about his face.
He went on. “Viridian Gate Online is truly the first of its kind. And that’s not the typical hyperbolic language so cavalierly tossed around in tech circles. No, I can assure you, I truly mean this is the first of its kind.”
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Get me into the game!
“Our revolutionary work with massive memristive neuromorphic computing systems has created a paradigm shift in AI technologies, and the result is an experience second to none. Moreover, through Osmark’s patented NexGenVR capsule you will experience a whole new world as though you were there in the flesh. Even the pain is real.”
The system stuttered, Osmark froze on screen, and the robotic voice of the AI took over. “Patch 1.3_e announcement update: Employees of Osmark Tech.”
Osmark’s face resumed its idle movements. “Hello, employees of Osmark Technologies, or close friends and family of the employee.” I was tired of hearing his nasally, droning voice, mostly because I’d heard it so many times in the last few months.
“You have done us, no, humanity, a great service. Either you contributed to the game, Viridian Gate Online, or you supported a technician working day and night to complete this new world. For that, we all owe you our lives. This couldn’t have been possible without you and the contributions of our benefactors.”
Benefactors. Right. He meant the politicians and criminals. Those able to give worldly support for virtual compensation when the end came.
“In the next seventy-two hours, you may experience some discomfort, and at the end of it, one in six will not be able to survive the transition to the game. Allow me to explain how it works.”
Osmark’s recording went into the layman’s version of the nano-tech copying the brain’s patterns line for line into a digital form over the next three days.
“Truthfully, that’s far more candid than I ever expected to be about how the process works, but this is the end of the world.” Osmark offered a genuine, yet exhausted, smile. I appreciated that. He was a dick and a whip cracker, but he could be real sometimes.
He went on to further explain that the nanobots now coursing through my veins would be copying my essence and uploading it to the servers deep underground, protected from the catastrophic EMP 213 Astraea would discharge on entering our atmosphere.
“We installed neural inhibitors into all the capsules which automatically logged players out after six hours of gameplay, but Patch 1.3 has changed all that. The neural inhibitors have all been disabled, and after twenty-four hours of in-game time, the logout button will permanently disappear, leaving you stranded in the game.”
No skin off my back, I didn’t plan on logging out.
“If you choose to upload yourself to Viridian Gate Online, you have a chance at surviving Astraea, at least in a digital form. Now, let me take a moment to address some of the concerns circulating around the internet rumor mill. First, I can personally assure everyone listening to this message that Patch 1.3 is our last major update—the game is locked, and all essential functions are now being administered by the AI controllers.”
The Overminds. I knew them all pretty well, understood their roles. I had to. My code needed to know who to call to complete a function, so I’d had to learn them all, though I only created code for two of them: Enyo, the Overmind of Chaos, and Sophia, the Overmind of Balance.
Osmark went on to discuss the fears of hacking, which we “secured” against. We certainly did our best, but someone with time and a lot of dedication could hack what we did. It would be hard, nearly impossible with the time the world had left, but they could do it.
“By watching this warning, you hereby remove all liability of damages from Osmark Technologies, its corporate owners, and its subsidiary entities. Would you still like to proceed?”
I knew what needed to be done, and I was the one to do it. Even if I only had three days until my heart stopped, perhaps stopped for good, I would make them count. I would make Osmark pay.
I cherished my last moment as a living, breathing, fleshy being, then answered. “Yes.”
<<<>>>
Quest Alert: Continue Reading Firebrand
CONTINUE WITH ABBY to find out what happens next!
Quest Class: Rare, Class-Based
Quest Difficulty: Easy
Success: Read on to continue the adventure!
Reward: 15,000 EXP; Title: Rebel Leader
Accept: Yes / No?
<<<>>>
Viridian Gate Online: Expanded Universe
Viridian Gate Online: Cataclysm (Book 1)
Viridian Gate Online: Crimson Alliance (Book 2)
Viridian Gate Online: The Jade Lord (Book 3)
Viridian Gate Online: Imperial Legion (Book 4)
Viridian Gate Online: The Lich Priest (Book 5)
Viridian Gate Online: Doom Forge (Book 6)
Viridian Gate Online: Side Quests (Anthology)
Viridian Gate Online: The Artificer (Imperial Initiative 1)
Viridian Gate Online: Nomad Soul (The Illusionist Book 1)
Viridian Gate Online: Firebrand (The Firebrand Series Book 1)
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Acknowledgements
NOMAD SOUL IS A REFERENCE to Alan’s transition from the physical to digital world, but it was also a video game made by Quantic Dream back in 1999. It featured David Bowie, some pretty snazzy music, and a character for whom death was just the beginning.
I played Omikron: The Nomad Soul in 1999, while still in high school, and it marked me (as all Quantic Drea
m games have). As I remember it, the last boss was unbeatable on the hardest difficulty. Rather than play on “easy” or cheat, I quit and felt good about it. Read into that what you will.
I created Alan as a lark; Shadow Alley Press put out a call for short stories and I wanted to push the boundaries of their world as far as I could (without ending up with something unreadable). James Hunter was kind enough to not only publish that short story, but encourage me to keep pushing. This book wouldn’t have been possible without him, Jeanette, Zack, Tamara, eden, Jake, Nathan, and Jess.
I’d like to thank my family, who’ve been supportive throughout, particularly Toria, who read me when I didn’t know anything, and Eileen who’s followed my writing with patience and faith. Thanks also to Ais, Chip, David, Ekaterina, Elli, Jason, Mom, Paul, and many others who’ve read my stuff with enough interest to make it through the acknowledgements, which I guess includes you.
Thanks!
D.J.
Copyright
Viridian Gate Online: Nomad Soul (The Illusionist Book 1) is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2019 by James A. Hunter and Shadow Alley Press, Inc.
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, email the publisher, subject line “Attention: Permissions Coordinator,” at the email address below.
JStrode@ShadowAlleyPress.com
About the Author
DJ Bodden is a writer and veteran Marine Corps pilot, currently working out of Geneva, Switzerland for a commodities firm. He read grown-up books at an inappropriate age, developed strong feelings about old videogames that have followed him throughout his life, and didn't own a car until the age of 23, when he learned to drive and fly starting at the same time. As a kid with a head full of other people's stories, he decided he needed to gather a few of his own and joined the military. During the next thirteen years, he rode, rappelled out of, and flew planes and helicopters, got knocked out, cautioned, promoted, shot at, blew things up then rebuilt them, and met people from almost every walk of life imaginable. He wrote his first book at the end of a combat deployment - producing a manuscript that still lives in a box somewhere - and spent the next few years trying to learn how to do it again the right way. Now, with a few scars to show for it and his own stories tucked into his belt, he writes books for young-and-old adults who take their stories wide-scoped, high-staked, and a touch of "what if?".
Read more at D.J. Bodden’s site.
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Though our stories can be thought provoking at times, our primary goal is to entertain readers with wild stories and interesting characters you can’t walk away from. We want to whisk readers into a different world where the impossible is possible, where monsters lurk around every corner, but so do heroes, always ready to swoop in and fight back the dark.
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