Chapter 1

Morning of The Apocalypse

Human Population 10 Billion

Ian Anderson

Ian woke in a small blue room.

He shouldn’t feel comfortable standing in the middle of the room, but somehow he did. He’d been playing Demon Blaster III. His father had told him to get some sleep. And then?

“Hello Ian Anderson,” said a calm sexless disembodied voice. “I am the artificial intelligence named Beginner’s Guide. It is an honor to meet you. Let me give you the great news. Your world is becoming like those computer games you enjoy. You decide what type of character you wish to become, then you will fight monsters. Before, you killed monsters in make-believe. Now you get to kill them for real. Isn’t that great! If you win, you will advance and gain riches. If you lose, you will be eaten. Best fortune to you, young human.”

“Am I dreaming?” Ian wondered out loud.

“No, Ian. You are not dreaming. You are in a psychic time bubble, what you might best understand as a small part of the Galactic Internet. The monsters that have entered your house through your pet door will not bother you while you are with me. Before you leave to defend Terran honor, we have much to discuss. First, I will pull up your stat sheet.”

A screen appeared in the air in front of Ian.

Name Ian Anderson

Sex Male

Age 13

Physical Attributes 3.3

With 10 being an Olympic athlete, and 1 being an invalid in a wheelchair, you are 3.3.

Mental Attributes 7.8

With 10 being a super-genius, and 1 being severely retarded, you are 7.8

Status among peers Low

Your peers consider you a nerd and spasticle.

Spasticle, is a human slang word that means an uncoordinated, clumsy person.

Claims to fame.

Coach Benson considers you the worst player to try out for his little league baseball team, in the fifty years he coached baseball.

This shows you are a boy who can beat the odds, but perhaps not in a good way.

Special abilities

None

“Coach Benson is a senile old windbag,” Ian said. “I’m sure somebody out there is a worse player than me.”

“Indeed. As you are an immature human male, thirteen earth years old. Your physical abilities are inferior to those of most of your kind. Your mental scores are better. I believe there is a term for a human with your ratings. Nerd.”

Great. Ian thought, even his dreams pick on him. “Your point is?” he asked.

“Skill points are points that can improve your existing skills,” Beginner’s Guide continued. “You gain them through experience. With skill points, you may improve faster than you would through training and experience alone. I would advise you to use your skill points to improve a mental ability, such as perception. The two plushies in your house are silent and have excellent camouflage skills.”

“Plushies?” Ian asked.

“Plushies are their human names. The Galactic Administerium decided it would be best to give our monsters cute non-threatening names, to avoid upsetting this world’s human inhabitants. Plushies are a reptilian life-form with the mass of a large dog. They are good at getting through small openings, like your cat’s pet door. They have large sharp teeth and their bite is poisonous. Human children are their favorite prey. Fight hard young human!”

“So I have to fight two plushies and I win the game?”

“Oh no, no,” the AI Beginner’s Guide answered “Billions of monsters have been released on your world. At this moment, I am speaking to every human with the cognitive ability to understand me.”

“So how do we win?” Ian asked.

“You may also wish to take on a new human character. Perhaps a warrior from your past. If you do this, you sacrifice any skill-points and gifts you might otherwise receive.”

“Gifts?” Ian asked.

“Because you are young, your mind and body are more malleable than those of adults. In order to make up for the small number of skill points you are receiving due to your lack of experience, you may have two gifts. A gift is a talent or ability you didn’t have previously. I will pull up a list of the gifts we offer. Take your time. I’m here to answer your questions. You have twenty-three hours and forty-five minutes to decide before you must fight the monsters. After that, you will be expelled from this reality bubble, whether or not you have chosen. I have put the most useful gifts on top of the list.”

A list appeared in the air in large gold letters. When Ian waved his hand, he found he could make the list go up and down. At the top of the list was IRON EYES. He poked the words. Smaller gold letters appeared next to it. “Allows you to see past physical and psychic illusions, improves night vision. You will see alien monsters as they are, not what they wish you to see.” He went down the list. REGENERATION, POISON RESISTANCE. Ian kept going until he saw PSYCHIC DOMINATOR. Allows you to form a telepathic connection with a weaker-minded human or monster, and if you wish, bend them to your will. Note this is a difficult skill for a human to develop and may take years to master. This skill is ineffective against monsters that don’t have a mind to dominate or less intelligent beings that hunt through instinct, like the two plushies in your house.

PSYCHIC ATTACK. Allows you to create a mental disturbance in a weaker-minded human or monster, making them paralyzed, frightened, or confused. It can also allow you to project illusions to drive off a human or monster. Combines well with PSYCHIC DOMINATOR. Note this is a difficult...

Ian stopped reading. “That one, and that one,” he said, pointing to the last two he’d read. And put my skill points where they will be most effective in helping me master the two gifts I’ve requested.”

“Are you sure, Ian?“ Beginner’s Guide asked. “Neither gift will be of any use to you in the near future. It will take weeks to months for you to gain any proficiency with either of these gifts and much longer for you to master them.”

“I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life,” said Ian. Even if this wasn’t a dream, there was little point in surviving if he was going to remain the contemptible virgin loser he’d become. Picked last in PE, the one who got pushed around in school and laughed at. But if he had mind control abilities?... It was like that turd-jock-clique at school kept saying. ‘The only way Ian’s getting a girlfriend is with mind control.’ He grinned. A certain clique was in for a nasty shock. His imagination ran wild.

“One more thing, human. Would you like to name the new character you wish to become? Unlike your video-game characters, you will have this name until you die.”

“Lord Ian, Mind Master,” for once he was a step ahead of the Beginner’s Guide.

“Well Lord Ian, I should mention electricity will not serve humans as it has in the past. The galactic market has many things for sale for galactic credits. Unfortunately, you have no galactic credits, and with your chances of survival, you are a poor candidate for a loan. I am however willing to let you exchange the 856 dollars in your savings account for a small portable light source. This light source will increase the likelihood of you surviving through the night.”

Ian shrugged. “Sure,” he said. Who cared about dream money? And if it wasn’t a dream, the money was worthless anyway.

“Do you have questions for me? Now is the time to ask.” The AI sounded sad.

“No, thank you. I am ready to leave,” Ian said, “Wait, how do I win this game?”

“Some questions must be answered by the questioner, Lord Ian. Fight hard young human.” The blue room vanished.

***

Ian woke up. It was dark. He groped for his glasses on his nightstand. He was half-blind without them. Putting them on, he tried to check the time, but his electric clock was dead.

He reached for his cellphone, feeling for where it connected to his charger. It was also dead, and nothing he did could bring it back to life.

Growing nervous he tried his bedside light, it wouldn’t turn on either.

He felt something strange, like a sneeze that wouldn’t quite happen. Then a marble-sized object appeared in his right hand. It let out a faint glow. At his mental urging, it grew brighter until his room was plainly visible.

The implication of these events set in. He heard a yowl and hiss from the living room. He sensed Fluffy’s fear, felt the terrified cat escaping out the pet door.

The door to his bedroom was half open. He crept forward and pushed it shut. Terrified, he checked his room and under his bed for camouflaged “plushies” Not seeing any, he pushed his dresser against the bedroom door and made sure his bedroom windows were firmly shut. In the distance, he heard loud inhuman screeches, gunfire, and human screams. Hearing rattling, clicking noises coming from outside his bedroom windows, he shut off his alien light so they wouldn’t see him. Grabbing his inhaler, he took a hit. This was the wrong time to have an asthma attack.

He huddled against his dresser, in the dark, too terrified to move, the AI’s words echoed in his head. ‘You will have this name until you die’. He hated himself for his cowardice, but fuck Terran honor, he wanted to live.

This was going to be a long night.