Chapter Twenty - Another World: Four

Tatiana sat up, blinking herself awake into the real world. She cursed, frustrated to find tear stains on the inside of the Neurosync.

Blearily she pulled the headset off and fished for the towel she kept nearby. The Neurosync was pretty amazing but even it had its issues. Namely, that keeping your real world body clean while in the game was practically impossible unless you had one of those medical rigs.

She wiped the headset off, cleaning it thoroughly while periodically wiping her own eyes as she tried to recover from the emotional blowback of everything she’d just gone through.

‘Stupid Gell. Stupid me … getting all worked up over a damn…’ she thought, still feeling unnaturally guilty.

Gell had been willing to kill the raptor. Only after she’d let Tatiana, or rather Akwa die, of course, but at least she’d done it. She’d lost a level. Ah well. A small price to pay, especially on an alt character she’d only created in order to befriend Gell.

When she’d concocted this scheme she hadn’t really expected to get so involved with it. Befriend Gell, she’d thought! Make her see the good in humanity, she’d reasoned! Make sure she’d never go rogue A.I. overlord!

She had not expected to be dragged into an emotional minefield of sympathy and regret. There had been an upside to this plan though. She no longer feared Gell herself. The girl would no more start an apocalypse than any average fourth grader would. But then, fourth graders didn’t typically have the ability to alter the personalities of software constructs.

She still remembered watching Gell turn that wolf from a regular mob into something more back in Twisted Wronkle Woods. Back when she’d thought Gell was a massive threat to her family and possibly humanity itself. Yes, Gell was an A.I. but in coming to know her she’d realized that the girl was absolutely unhostile. This had the unintended result that she now felt the need to defend Gell from her detractors.

The truth was that Gell was… innocent was the best word she could think of. The girl didn’t talk about Red Thorn if she could avoid it and Tatiana had yet to bring up her alternate character in conversation. Unfortunately, now she was worried that Gell might hate her when she found out.

More than she already did, anyway.

Curiously, that mattered to her. It was hard not to feel some connection to a person who’d just cried their eyes out on her shoulder, even if she wasn’t human. Gell was growing up fast but she didn’t seem to be any more or less dangerous than the average person. Her almost aggressive pacifism made her even less so. She was just… lonely and stuck in her cage.

She’d talked about how the world wasn’t real. How the people in it weren’t real, and as she’d done so, Tatiana had realized that Gell was a prisoner. She wasn’t ready to throw all caution to the wind though. She did fully agree with Francis. Gell might not deserve to be trapped in Tread the Sky alone, but she certainly shouldn’t learn how to program.

It was actually quite comforting to know that the developers were actively monitoring Gell. A load off of her shoulders. Gell wouldn’t seek revenge on Red Thorn or her family, even if she could.

Now if only she didn’t have to worry about rent next month. She’d taken several days off in order to get Akwa to a level comparable to Gell’s and streaming money stopped flowing really fast if you stopped streaming.

She opened up her email, deciding to make sure she hadn’t missed anything important before going to bed. Her eyes were still crusty despite rubbing them clean five times, and she didn’t care for the light of the computer in her dimly lit room. Quickly adjusting the backlight of her monitor she began to scroll through her newest emails.

“Bill receipt, bill receipt, audiobook credit, bill receipt for the audiobook credit… nothing impor–wait. Direct email?” she said, as she came across the newest message in her inbox.

An email had been forwarded from her in-game Red Thorn avatar from a [email protected]&t.com. I didn’t look like spam so she opened it, curious.

From: Vera Jungblut [email protected]&t.com>

To: [email protected]

Subject: The Gypsenergy A.I. & Interview Opportunity

Good evening,

My name is Vera Jungblut and I am a reporter with Prominent Tech and Trade, one of the foremost information technology and software discussion webrags online today, and I would like to open a discussion with you.

I got your email via your twitch streams online and would like to find out if you are open to an interview where I detail and expose what you know about the A.I. Gypsenergy has created in a credible and highly reputable forum.

It has come to our attention that, rather than sweeping your claims under the rug, Gypsenergy has endorsed them, yet your reputation for blowing the whistle on what has been created within Tread the Sky remains tarnished. I would like to set the record straight.

It is my goal to expose and sensationalize the A.I. and explain to the public exactly what we are dealing with, for good or ill. To do that, I’d like to know more about this A.I. Gell, I believe it calls itself?

As such, I have reached out to you, in order to find out your opinion on the A.I. as well find out what you know about its possible whereabouts within Tread the Sky.

Please reply at your earliest convenience and I look forward to speaking with you.

Best Regards

Vera Jungblut

Prominent Tech and Trade Junior Columnist

‘Jeez, the guy grand-stands more than a frat boy,” Tatiana thought, amused but still intrigued by the letter. Her own opinion about Gell had changed quite a bit over the past few days. Either way she would be an idiot to turn down an interview with a prominent tech company… even if she’d never heard of it. She wasn’t exactly a big gamer or a fan of tech articles.

A quick search online led her to discover that the company was completely legitimate as far as she could tell and a search for Vera led to a column on one of Prominent Tech and Trade’s subsidiary webrags called MMOrg. The column discussed the Neurosync and its impact on future gaming.

She thumbed her chin for a minute, trying to decide exactly what to say back to the man. First and foremost, she was pretty broke. The recent deals she’d brokered with advertising companies to give her a bit of supplemental income from her twitch streams were helpful but she wasn’t exactly the top player in the game but she was one of those rare individuals who could actually make money off gaming now, even if it wasn’t in huge amounts.

She was well aware that the cash likely wouldn’t last very long considering Array’s Ring’s imminent launch approaching at the end of the year. No one would be watching Tread the Sky streams after a Bethesda game began to compete with it and the odds of her being able to become a top player in that game were every bit as low as her lucky break with Gell’s Sovereign Dexterity Crystals had been.

An interview where her name was mentioned in a prominent e-magazine might make that cash cow last a little longer. It would also be a good opportunity to let people know about what Gell was actually like.

Much as it pained her to admit it, Germaine had been right about how she’d acted before. She’d… overreacted to Gell. She’d been stupid and paranoid to a degree that made her seem foolish at best and downright prejudiced at worst. She’d even lost a few twitch followers over it, though the number she’d gained from her sensationalism had balanced that out.

This might be an opportunity to make amends. Even better, as Akwa, she could maybe even find a way to show Gell the article of Red Thorn’s apology…

Smiling at the thought she hit the reply button and began a response.

From: [email protected]

To: [email protected]&t.com

Subject: Re: The Gypsenergy A.I. & Interview Opportunity

Mr. Jungblut,

Thank you for reaching out! I have been wondering why no one seems all that interested or worried about Gell as they should be and am glad to see at least one person takes me seriously. I’d love to get my opinion out there!

I admit my opinion about the A.I. has changed quite a bit since I first posted those videos. I’ve since met her and revised my opinion of her. I’d love the opportunity to discuss her with you and tell you why my opinion has changed.

As for contact with her, I’m afraid she is… quite angry with me and I don’t know where she is though streams of her seem to place her in Variak. You’d have to find her on your own though as I am probably her least favorite person.

I’m available any time during the weekend and on Monday. Please send me a time!

Sincerely,

Tatiana AKA Red Thorn

She stared over the letter, realizing only after she sent it that she’d said the word opinion like seven or eight times. She flushed in embarrassment in the privacy of her home at the mistake. Still, she was excited about the interview and hoped the man didn’t judge her for the nervous message before she laid down. Unable to sleep, it only took her about fifteen minutes to decide to log back in as Red Thorn.