Chapter 4

The First Day Back.

I woke in my parent’s living room in the late afternoon, leaning against Simon and drooling on his shoulder. I’d spent the last hour listening to Tee’s history lessons on the different factions that lived through the transit rings around my station, while going over field manuals for the various technology I would be able to deploy if I could afford them.

This wasn’t like any game I’d ever played. Certainly, my class progression was somewhat familiar, but the way I could build and shape my station and dungeon was entirely up to me.

It was daunting.

For the two weapons I had access to, I could purchase the blueprints to 1,085 different minor improvements. That was only those two. I had access to six other light and medium railgun weapons systems, 284 different styles of armor for the station, 159 different types of fabrication stations, 82 varieties of power generation, and at least 5,000 other additions. And almost all of them had as many minor improvements as the two weapons I already had. And that was just for the station at level 1. Tee promised there would be more at higher levels.

You might think having that many options would have been helpful. It wasn’t. My opponents had just as many choices, which made coming up with the perfect strategy the next thing to impossible.

So when I woke on the couch, I was grouchy, thirsty, hungry, and the last in line for the bathroom because some things never change when you’re the youngest. At least, I wasn’t drugged up. I could think clearly and experience joy over seeing my family alive and well.

That improved me mood significantly.

Over the past few days, more information had slowly added to what I knew as the Peacekeepers brought us entirely into the Collective. I knew my rights, my responsibilities, the laws, and what was expected of me now that I was a citizen.

They didn’t want ownership of earth. For the most part, they wanted our internal political, economic, legal, and religious systems to remain in place. There were a few technologies we weren’t allowed to study, like eugenics, and a few things were universally outlawed, like murder, which included wars in their mind, but otherwise, we were free to do as we pleased.

Dad smiled at me across the dining room table after everyone raided the fridge. “Where did you end up? I tried to find you. I found your brothers easily enough, they were on opposite sides of Zigma Prime, but I couldn’t find a trace of you anywhere. I even spent a few of the credits I earned to pay an AI to do a search.”

“I’m a station master, on a transit station. I’m basically by myself.”

“Ouch, that hurt,” Tee said.

My family shared my surprise as the talking blue orb the size of a baseball floated in through the window.

“You leave me for ten minutes, and you’re already denying my existence, like that fat chick you slept with at your first frat party.”

My brothers snickered.

“I didn’t know you could come outside the game,” I said, scowling at him. How the hell did he know about Stacy?

“I can even buy my own body if we survive long enough,” Tee said. “And I didn’t mention it because this is my time off, my me time. Hello, Morgan’s dad and brothers. I am the AI known as Tee. Morgan’s currently non-corporal BFF, I’m pleased to finally meet you. I mean, Morgan didn’t mention you once, but I figured that was because of all the dying and because I was talking every minute of the day when that wasn’t happening, and not because he doesn’t like any of you.”

Dad smiled. “Please to meet you too, Tee. I met a lovely AI named Charlotte on Zigma Prime, in the second city, near the port. She was in charge of the hotel I was staying in. Do you know her?”

“Contrary to popular belief, not all AI’s know each other. All AI’s on a given planet do typically know each other, but not off-world, and Morgan and I are certainly off-world. We are guarding your cluster, though.”

That was news to me. “We are?”

“Yeah, Zigma Prime is about three transit rings inside the sector from where we are, but it's part of the twenty-five systems we’re defending.”

“How do you know that?”

“Scanner readings, I was going to tell you about it once you got your head around how to build your station. It’s not exactly important information. Anyway, Morgan’s family, what have you all been up to? I guarantee you it was more interesting than what we’ve been doing. Morgan basically spent two days dying. He probably has the current highest death count on earth. Actually, I can check the leader board now that I’m linked in.” Tee started laughing. “I was right. He does and by a lot. So what have you been up to?”

“Fighting,” my brothers said together before laughing.

Peter went into a long story about a small town and an invasion from AI-controlled raiders. The raiders had come trying to rob the local mine. He’d had to join up with a bunch of others and take them on with particle pistols. He’d had a great time, earning 15 Tokens for the three he killed along with a lot of in-game loot. He was now level 3 and working as a transportation guard.

About halfway through Simon’s story, everyone’s phone buzzed.

Before anyone could grab them, Tee told us what it was about. “That’s just a national alert and nothing to worry about. Your government has reformed and is reaching out to find all those with special classes. They’re working with the other governments who are trying to unify humanity's position before the next time you all go in.”

My dad frowned. “How do you know that?”

“I’ve hacked your government’s security network. I’m listening to your new president’s briefing. They’re trying to figure out where they should focus their resources so you survive longer. Don’t look at me like that. What I’m doing is perfectly legal under Peacekeeper law. Planetary governments must be 100% transparent at all times while performing government-related actions. Morgan, I’ve informed your president of who you are, what your class is, and suggested they purchase a government AI, so they don’t have to speak with me directly because it's time-consuming.”

“Is he joking?” my dad asked.

“Probably not,” I replied, hoping I couldn’t get arrested for this.

“So your AI friend just interrupted the president’s briefing to reply to a government message in person.”

“I’m a character,” Tee said. “Anyway, a government liaison will be calling you shortly. Now I believe Simon was telling a story.

***

The government liaison wasn’t much help. They took my name, my class, and which sector my station was in and then told me they would get back to me. I spent the rest of the day at my parent’s, listening to my family’s adventures. They were a lot more fun than mine. I told them what I’d been up to, which made them all laugh, but then worry once they understood how important my job was. Dad had promised to contract uncle frank. He had an old army buddy who was now a gun instructor who could teach me how to shoot.

I was grateful.

I desperately needed the help.

In the early evening, I drove back to my apartment. Buster was a little antsy, so I took him for a walk around the block, while potatoes shaped drones flew over head. Tee floated along, giving a running monologue of everything he saw and the sort of things we could buy to improve it.

My neighborhood hadn’t been the friendliest place, but neither had it been terrible. It had lost its rough edge in the few short days everyone was gone. A lot more children played outside. And people actually smiled at each other when they passed, instead of ignoring each other. We were all intimately aware of the law and how it was enforced. No one was going to get away with breaking it. It was nice, in a messed up big brother is always watching you kind of way. It certainly made people feel safer, though.

When I got back to my apartment, I took a shower and switched on my computer, hoping to unwind. There was a message on my phone telling me not to come in for a few days, so instead of heading to bed, I opened up Stronghold Dominion, a co-op tower defense game. I was ranked number one in the world. I’d played in all five international tournaments and won four of them, losing out to that weirdo Enigma.

Tower defense tournaments had never taken off, so they weren’t huge earners. The 1st place prize had only been $5,000, but, between it and the other tower defense games I played, I managed to make an extra $20,000 on top of my salary, plus travel expenses.

In the right circles, I was famous. But I was like poet famous. I might have won accolades on the weekend, but my nine till five was still what paid the bills. And the people who thought I was cool were only a small niche of gamers.

When I opened the game, I had multiple messages waiting for me. All from top 20 players. All asking if I had been offered the station master class like they had, along with telling me which sector they were defending. There was an invite for a zoom call that had happened a few hours ago. Only one of the people who contacted me was in my sector, my not-so-old apprentice.

Luckily I had his number.

I pulled out my phone and called Mrs. Yang. She picked up on the third ring. “Good evening, Morgan.”

“Hey, Mrs. Yang, is Daniel awake? I have a message from him that he also received the Station Master class and that he was in my sector.”

Daniel Yang was a twelve-year-old paraplegic. I’d first met him online through a co-op game a little over a year ago. The kid had the foulest mouth I’d ever heard on someone his age, and I occasionally played Call of Duty. The way he told it, he’d had a long series of liaisons with my mother and was eventually going to become my deadbeat step-dad because that’s the way she liked it. At the time, I’d assumed he was just your average angry gamer kid, so I’d let loose saying similar stuff back.

He’d loved it. Laughing any time I said something witty.

Since I hadn’t known he was paraplegic at the time, I didn’t realize that he was tired of everyone being overly nice to him because of his condition. Or that the reason he loved the toxic trash talk was that it was the only authentic interactions he had with most people. I’d just thought he was weird. I continued playing with him because the kid had skills. He wasn’t competing for first place, but he was top 20 even when I first met him. He was currently ranked 8th.

That was my doing.

After a tournament, his mother had approached me, explained his situation, and asked me if she thought she should allow him to play professionally. Apparently, he’d wanted to start playing in tournaments, so he could meet me in person, but she didn’t want him to play only to immediately lose. She was worried about his self-confidence and didn’t want him to get depressed. She’d flown across the country to meet me because of that. I’d told her the truth that he had the skills to compete but not come first. And that if he worked at it, he could be top 10.

She’d offered to fly me to New York, so I could tell him myself. Since her purse cost more than my car, I accepted.

The Daniel Yang I met in person and the Daniel Yang I played with online were very different. Online the kid was an angry bull who cursed every third word. In person, he was a kind, considerate, and well-spoken lonely boy. Yeah, I’d felt bad for him, so I’d helped him get better, mostly out of pity. But after a while, I’d eventually liked him for him. He had an infectious enthusiasm for life that grew on you.

Mrs. Yang laughed through the phone. “Daniel is most certainly awake. I doubt he will sleep at all tonight. My husband and I managed to find enough people willing to sell us their Tokens to treat his condition. He and his father are outside burning his wheelchair in the backyard, running around pretending they’re cavemen who discovered fire in between wrestling matches.”

A rush of emotion surged through me and a huge smile consumed my face. I found myself having to blink away tears. “That sounds like fun. I’ll call back in the morning. You enjoy your evening.”

“Hold on, Morgan. He wants to talk to you.”

I shook my head, even though she couldn’t see. “You really don’t have to. This can wait. I don’t want to ruin your celebration.”

“No, Daniel said it can’t wait. You’re the last member of his sector to check-in. The other two have been waiting to hold a discussion, and they won’t have it until you are all present.”

Half a minute passed and then Daniel picked up the phone. “Hey, Morgan, don’t tell me how it’s hanging because that would be inappropriate and get you put on a list somewhere.”

I snorted. “That answers that question, I guess. I always thought your personality had something to do with all the methane you inhaled down there, but apparently not.”

“I’m still short, so we’ll have to wait and see. Anyway, mum said you’re in sector thirteen. What did you pick for your trait and primary path? I went with the boss monster for my dungeon and the station tech path. My boss monster's name is Smasher. He’s a twelve-foot-tall robot with all sorts of weapons. He took care of the rats for me. Have you seen all our weapon options for the station? It’s insane. How are we supposed to pick anything? There are way too many choices. I gave up after like two hours and spent my time getting to know the food replicator and entertainment system. I ate my body weight in chocolate ice cream and watched robot movies with Smasher. What about you?”

“I picked the AI for my trait, hoping it would give me more information. I also chose the station tech path.”

“Did it work?”

“Yeah, it did. He’s even able to come out of the game.”

“That’s cool. Smasher is stuck inside, I think. But if you see a robot walking around and blowing stuff up, call me.”

“Your mum said you’ve been in contact with the other members of sector thirteen? Do you know who we are working with? My AI says there should be four of us.”

“Yeah, we got lucky. We’ve got the Librarian. He also knew we had four which is why we were waiting for you.”

That was lucky. The Librarian was a lovely retired gentleman named Harold who had started playing video games to have something he could do with his grandchildren. He’d been a former librarian hence the nickname. He had a photographic memory and a thirst for knowledge. If I needed to know something about a game, he was the person I went to. His ability to think out a logical course of action was what had made him rank in the top 10. His inability to improvise was why he never placed in the top 5.

“Who’s the fourth?”

“I don’t remember.”

I scoffed, knowing that was bull. “Really, you are going to play the, I don’t remember card. I know for a fact you have an IQ of like 150. Who is it?”

“Enigma. I’m messaging them now. I’m going to make this a group call. Don’t hang up.”

I groaned.

I really hated that guy. Not because he’d beaten me in multiple tournaments. That I actually respected. I hated him because he felt the need to wear a costume. It was this weird mask, gloves, and cape that looked ridiculous. He’d just turn up, play, and then vanish once he got his prize money. He wouldn’t even talk to you online except through text.

“I’m switching over to video chat,” Daniel said as I continued to groan.

I pulled my phone from my ear and the kid's face appeared on my screen. In the past, he’d had bags under his eyes and strained features. Now, he looked like a regular kid. His hair was messy and there was dirt on his chin. There was also a massive grin on his face I wasn’t used to seeing.

A moment later, The Librarian appeared. His 94-year-old face was a labyrinth of wrinkles around pale blue eyes, made extra large by the strength of his glasses’ prescription. He wore his customary tweed vest and jacket, with a blue bowtie.

He smiled. “Morgan, it’s so good to see you. Has Daniel told you who our fourth member is?”

“Yeah, apparently it’s Enigma.”

The Librarian saw my scowl and sighed. “I know how you feel about him, but he’s good at what he does, and we need that. What trait did you choose? I chose the energy shield with the station tech path. Defense has always been my weakness.”

“I chose the AI and station tech too.”

The Librarian grinned excitedly. “Thank goodness, someone did. How useful is the AI? I’ve been going over the information available to me through my station, but it isn’t organized. I’ve only made three purchases since this began, and one of those was an information package on how to kill the station rats.”

A fourth face, made from matrix-like 1s and 0s, appeared in our chat. “I liked to think of myself as the Yin to Morgan’s Yang, but then he started talking to an actual Yang, so I now think of myself as his naughty little secretary. I’m Tee, by the way. Station AI and Morgan’s BFF.”

The librarian froze. “You can communicate outside the game. How?”

“I’m a sentient, self-aware life form, so I get booted out like you and the rest of the universe does,” Tee said. “I’m currently stuck living inside a floating orb that can only see about 10 meters until I can afford a body.”

“Can you give me more information about blueprints we can purchase? The information I receive through my station is minimal.”

“I emailed you everything I know. You should see an email from [email protected] Everything is broken into categories and alphabetized. If you have any questions, just email me back.”

Daniel raised his hand to speak.

“I emailed a copy to your mum too.”

Daniel grinned.

Enigma connected to the call, except he wasn’t wearing a mask, and he wasn’t a he, he was a she, and I knew her. Well, not knew her, but I had seen her photos on billboards. She was a model, a super famous one. I had no idea what her name was, though.

Damn, she was hot.

Long wavy blonde hair that seemed to go on like southern fields, framed a face of perfect proportions, and eyes that made you think of clear skies. She didn’t look as good as her billboards, but she was still better looking than anyone I’d met in person.

That didn’t change anything.

She smiled and waved. “Sorry, I’m late. And before you ask, I’m not Natalia. I’m her twin sister, Alexandra, but you can call me Alex. I never showed my face in tournaments because Nat had a brand and image to protect, and being a small-time gamer would ruin that. She paid me a lot of money not to mess with her brand, which is why I always wore the costume and didn’t speak. But I’m definitely Enigma.”

“Prove it,” I said.

She rolled her eyes at me. “At our second tournament, you said I was making nerds look bad with my costume. That I was bringing down nerd culture as much as cape-wearing neckbearded dungeon masters who walk around wearing socks with sandals and fedoras.” She turned to Danny. “The last time we were matched, you said that losing your ability to walk was the second most disappointing thing that had happened to you after having to play with me.” She turned to the librarian. “I’ve never beaten you in chess.”

“None of those are exactly secrets,” I said. “And I’m not taking what I said back. You really did make us look bad. Everyone log in, and we’ll play while chatting. If you can play like Enigma, I’ll believe you’re Enigma.”

Her smile faded. “Seriously, why would I lie?”

“I don’t know? But people are weird and I need proof. Also I may just want to unwind while I get that proof. Unlike some of us who were eating ice cream and watching movies, I’ve been dying over and over again. I need a break. Alex, what’s your trait? Mines the AI, The Librarian chose the shield, and Daniel has the dungeon boss. We all took the station tech path.”

“I took the same path as you all did, but I chose the secondary reactor. I figured the more power equaled more versatility.”

The Librarian nodded. “I purchased an information pack within a few hours of arriving and spent most of my time reading through it. From what I gathered, as a new faction, we have control of all paths into our sectors. That makes us the first line of defense for sector thirteen. If we do our jobs correctly, sector thirteen will have a significantly better chance of surviving longer. If we fail, then we open them up to invasion. So I would like us to all work together to come up with a way forward.”

“Let me stop you there,” Tee said. “None of you have the same factions connected to your station that Morgan does. You can’t come up with a single solution. If you want to work together, you’re going to need to study each other’s station and faction composition and come up with a plan tailored to each of you.”

The Librarian frowned. “That requires us knowing what is beyond the transit rings.”

Tee nodded. “The first subsystem the three of you are going to purchase when you can is a communications array. It will let you talk to each other and skim information coming from the transit rings. With the communications array, I will be able to shift through the data you pick up and tell you who is around you. For the next four days, you can work on Morgan’s station since he’s the only one who has the information you all need, and he needs the most help.”

Alex frowned. “Why would he need help? He’s better than all of us?”

“Morgan can’t hit the broad side of a space station even if it’s standing still,” Tee said. “He kept dying to the rat outside the generation chamber. Which makes me think, I should ask how much trouble all of you had clearing your rats?”

“Not much,” the librarian said. “I fought in my youth, so I know my way around combat. I died a couple of times, but I still cleared my station.”

“Smasher did all the work for me,” Daniel said.

Alex shrugged. “I dated a guy who liked to take me to the range. He broke up with me when I became a better shot. I still died about 20 times, though. How many times did you die, Morgan?”

“After I couldn’t get out of the regeneration chamber and realized I didn’t have the skills to actually kill the station rats for the resources, I decided to try something non-standard,” I explained my situation to them without holding back any details. It was a bit embarrassing, made worse by Tee’s running monologue. “I’m currently level 5, but I have no credits to my name. I’m going to have an extremely high level when the first faction arrives, but without credits, I’m going to be crushed pretty quickly. So I need help coming up with a plan.”

The librarian nodded. “I’ll help as much as I can, but I’m not sure how much time we have before they arrive.”

“That’s in the email I sent you, Tee said. “The soonest anyone has ever arrived is day two, but that requires them leaving almost within the first hour of the season starting. Only a few races try this tactic, and it’s easily countered most of the time. Just construct what’s in the email and they won’t stand a chance.”

The librarian smiled. “How about we all study the information Tee has emailed us, and then we’ll talk about solutions tomorrow evening after dinner.”

“I’ll ask my mum if that’s okay,” Daniel said unenthusiastically. “She doesn’t let me use her phone on school nights. And she’s already rung the principal to confirm that it’s open tomorrow.” Daniel turned and looked off-screen. “Mom, I need to use your phone tomorrow night!”

“Tomorrow is a school day! No games or phones on school days.”

“But mom, this is for the protection of humanity’s interests.”

“Don’t be dramatic, dear.”

The librarian raised an eyebrow. “Is this going to be a problem?”

Tee stepped in. “Don’t worry, I’ve got this. I just asked the president to ring his school and tell them they can’t give him homework or humanity might lose an entire sector. Actually, there is a lot to learn. He should probably ditch school for the next six months just so he can get up to speed. Give me a second, and I’ll see if the president is okay with that.”