Chapter Fifteen – Another World: Three

“Protesters, Candace! Protestors! I’m telling you this is the story of a lifetime. They’re telling us that they’ve created a fully-functioning human-level intelligence inside a video game! No jokes, no half-truths. It’s the real deal, or at least they think it is. Well I don’t know why no one else seems to have jumped all over this like homeless folks beneath a cash blimp but I tell you what, I want this on every front page you can find! Gell the Jellybot! Gell owns the Net. Gell for mayor! No. No, I don’t care that it’s… are you kidding me? And you believe that bunch of bologna? Peaceful, childlike, my ass. It’s an A.I.! We all know how that story ends. Get… no. Get…! Aghh just do it! I’m telling you it doesn’t matter if… ugh. Don’t make me pull the mean boss card, Candace. I don’t like threatening to fire people before it’s even Wednesday. I would too and you know it!”

Vera stared at the man behind the desk, trying to decide if he was actively trying to act like Jonah Jameson or if the impression he was giving was just a coincidence.

He slammed the phone down after a few more stilted half-sentences that she couldn’t understand without the other half of the conversation before finally looking up to meet Vera’s eyes.

“Vera Jungblut! Great! Just the man I wanted to see,” J.T. Milkenen himself said, beaming wide at Vera like they’d ever actually exchanged more than two words.

“Uhh, how can I help Mister Millkenen?” Vera asked, feeling a little confused.

He wasn’t exactly high up on the totem pole in the company but he’d managed to gain some renown recently on MMOrg and Classic Cons with his articles on gaming. His predictions about the success of the Neurosync and its immediate effect on other big gaming companies had propelled him to a seat at the table with the big writers, but sometimes he felt more like he was the dog sitting under it, begging for scraps.

He was understandably confused when the CEO invited him up to the twentieth floor for a… quick chat.

“Well, straight to the point. I can admire that. It isn’t every day you get a call to the big kakuna’s office so you’re probably feeling a tad worried right now. I know I would be in your shoes. Don’t be. This is a good call,” he said with a satisfied smirk on his face.

‘Did he just misuse a pokemon’s name in place of Kahuna?’ Vera thought with a mental groan while resisting the urge to roll his eyes. ‘Old people and their friggin’ pocket monsters.’

“You probably overheard the conversation I was just having with Candace, right? Well, that’s what I’ve called you up here for. Your piece on the Neurosync went over better than anyone expected, and you managed to gain a bit of a decent following with the VR gamers and the old hands alike. That’s exactly what we need. A slightly obscure name with a big hit or two under their belt, but no K.O.s yet. A man like you.”

Vera was becoming more and more uncomfortable by the minute. Mr. Millkenen was the CEO of Prominent Tech and Trade. MMOrg, the Webrag of which he had only recently gained a little bit of notoriety on, wasn’t even a footnote compared to the majority of news platforms this man was in charge of. Mr. Millkenen could fire him without a second thought. It wasn’t as if he had little motive to do his job, so why was he laying the butter on so thick?

“I’ll do… whatever you need sir,” Vera said, annoyed that his voice squeaked a little. He was in his thirties for god sakes.

Fortunately, this only seemed to amuse the CEO.

“Great great. I’ll cut right to the chase then. Tread the Sky. You’ve heard of it?” he asked, seemingly genuinely curious.

Vera almost rolled his eyes again before stopping himself. Of course, he’d heard of it. His bestselling article was about the Neurosync, which was almost vital to enjoying Tread the Sky.

Seriously. The game was pretty bad otherwise. Bland quests and a bland cast of characters, alongside a maddeningly difficult leveling system, made the game more enjoyable to watch on twitch feeds than actually play. The crafting and battle systems were admittedly pretty creative but a game couldn’t really stand on those alone. A mediocre game utilizing unbelievably amazing technology. It was probably going to tank as soon as another company managed to pick up the ball Gypsenergy had so clearly dropped.

Honestly, this whole time he’d thought the A.I. rumors going around were a last-ditch effort to drum up more popularity before Bethesda launched their Neurosync title Array’s Ring. Not to mention the social media megacorps that were eyeballing the new tech with undisguised greed.

“I’m… very aware of the game sir,” he said in as neutral a tone as he could manage.

“Good, good. I would like you to go into the game, find the A.I. they’ve been talking about and interview it. I want Prominent Tech and Trade to get out in front of this. It’s big news in the scholarly world but the regular populace doesn’t really seem to understand how big it is. You’re going to make it clear. Sound good?”

No, it certainly did not sound all that good. It sounded like pressure.

“It… sounds like a career-making opportunity, sir.” Left unsaid was that it could also be a career-breaking one.

“It is,” the CEO emphasized. “As far as we know, the girl is in Variak, one of the main starting points in the game.”

“I… uhm. Alright. But… sir? What sort of article did you want me to write about her. For all intents and purposes she doesn’t seem any different from a player,” Vera replied tentatively.

“Are you kidding me kid? What do you think’s going to sell? Peaceful, lovable A.I. loves pacifism and hugging Mobs? Sensationalize this.”

Vera squirmed. Still, he supposed he’d expected that, and it really was a career-making opportunity under the right conditions. If Gypsenergy wasn’t lying about their sapient A.I. and if that A.I. was actually interesting enough to create a story people would listen to, and if the A.I. was actually something worth fearing.

Frankly, if he sensationalized a peaceful, lovable A.I. as Gypsenergy seemed to claim she was, and it was discovered that she was every bid the butterball claimed, then the sales might be great but his personal credibility would tank.

He’d just have to see.

“How long do I have?” he asked, worriedly.

“A bit of time, but not much. As I said, we’re trying to get out in front of this. People aren’t interested. We think most people think it's a hoax. It hasn’t changed their lives or anything and with A.I. in every automated voice servant on the planet, it’s just not that impressive to the average person. I’d say have a story on my desk in a week.”

A week. That wasn’t bad. The A.I. was rumored to spend her time in Variak, which was one of the starter towns. He’d have to delete his current character, but he wasn’t too bent out of shape over that. He hadn’t actually played the game since the weeklong delay.

“A week,” he said with a nod, feeling himself grow a bit more confident. The deadline was surprisingly generous. He’d half expected the man to tell him he wanted it tomorrow. “Alright. I’ll find her, sir.”

“Good! Glad to hear it,” the man replied. “Now, would you send my two o’clock in? She’s probably waiting just outside there.”

Vera nodded. “Yes Sir. Do you want the article to go through the usual channels or should I send it straight to you when it’s done?”

The man pondered for a moment. “Usual channels. I’m not brash enough to assume I can do their job better than they can, but send me a message whenever you’ve submitted it. I’ve got a bit of personal curiosity about the machine that thinks it’s a person.”

“Will do!” Vera said with a grin, before realizing he’d just spoken to the frigging CEO like he was a college buddy. “Uhh. Sir!”

The man laughed and nodded but flicked his fingers in a clear dismissal.

Vera left the office, trying to pretend his face wasn’t red with embarrassment. Once in the lobby, he shook his head with a big sigh before looking around. The only person there was a comely-looking girl around his age, wearing a paisley dress that might’ve been more appropriate on a grandmother in his opinion. She would’ve been beautiful otherwise, but he’d never met her before.

“Uhm. If you’re his two o’clock, he asked me to send you in?” Vera asked, cursing himself for making that a question.

“Thank you,” the girl said softly before ducking around him and stepping into the office.

She didn’t close the door fully behind her. Vera was about to go, before noticing that the rest of the lobby was completely empty. Niggling curiosity struck him. The door was open and no one was around to see.

He leaned casually back towards the door so his ear was towards the crack into the CEO’s office. He knew he should just go. He had his assignment… but…

“...you’re our best, Muriel! She’s in a bad situation! She’s basically human and you write emotional stories! Sympathize with her!”

Wait, what? Hadn’t Mr. Millkenen just been telling him how the A.I. needed to be sensationalized? Made into a threat?

What the hell was he trying to–?

“Sir, for the last time: I don’t sympathize with it. It’s a machine. I don’t care how human it acts, I’m not going to write an article drumming up sympathy for an NPC. My articles are about how games help real people. Not how they make fake ones.”

Vera blinked. ‘Whoa. The cajones on that one…’

“Hmm… well I can respect professional integrity, but we need an article. Are you willing to gamble your job on this? You’re good Miss Gillfire, very good. But this is the third time you’ve refused to write. Which is more important to you? Integrity or a paycheck?”

Vera blinked. Holy shit, really? That was Muriel Gillfire? The girl’s articles were amazing.

“Integrity. I won’t write that article. I have no interest in making people sympathetic to a robot. That’s not what I do. If you’d prefer I write for another Webrag, I’ll see myself out. I’m sure TechNow would love to have me.”

“Now wait! Wait!” the CEO’s frantic voice trailed on the sound of footsteps. Vera almost decided to bolt but paused when the footsteps stopped.

“For what, Mr. Millkenen?” she asked.

“You’re… not interested in the sympathetic angle. Okay. Perhaps you’d be more interested in warning the public about the dangers she might cause?”

A few more steps in the office convinced Vera that it was time to go. He had just enough time to catch the girl’s response. “That seems counter-intuitive, but I’m listening.”

Vera decided he’d stuck around long enough and scrambled out of the lobby. He felt a great sense of relief as he arrived in the elevator with none the wiser to his eavesdropping. As he descended the floors, he mulled over what he’d just heard. So the CEO wanted to do both. Have one article demonizing the A.I. and another humanizing her.

Interesting. Perhaps he’d write two articles of his own…

Just in case.

Now all he had to do was find her. That said, he had just the idea where to start. Why not go straight to the girl who cried wolf?

Hah. She even wore a red hood.