“De Gamma, right? It feels weird to call you by your game name, Mr. Wu, but the organizers were adamant that we call you that. For recognition purposes, since most of the people here don’t know your real name,” I said as I shook the hand of De Gamma, leader of the biggest guild in Nornyr and the highest leveled player. He was actually thirty years old. I formerly thought he was in his early twenties at the most.

“It’s fine, Mr. Stone,” he said. He looked unexcited for the contract signing, giving off a generally bored feel even though there was a festive air. Maybe he was tired from all the autograph signing and picture taking with the crowd.

He was quite popular in-game, but I wouldn’t know that since Mardukryons were stuck in Australia Mountain where every creature wanted to kill us. But in the ‘outside world’, this De Gamma has following. Apparently, many people watch his videos online about things he does inside the game. Most of his videos showcase newly discovered areas, quests, and weapons.

I think it was a good idea to follow the lives of famous gamers and show them on the official JYE Nornyr Online Channel. I heard that JYE invited a bunch of players but many didn’t want to join although they already post their own videos online. That giant guy didn’t. I was kind of interested in seeing him because he was a future rival in being the tankiest guy in Nornyr.

I bet he was currently the hardest tank. It would take a monumental effort to dethrone him, especially because his entire guild was babysitting his character. They were most likely boosting him, giving him resources to upgrade his gear and helping him level. A giant wasn’t exactly a character that could move around easily since many NPC races didn’t like them going near their cities.

The contract signing went off without a hitch. It could have been all finished within ten minutes since we have already discussed all pertinent matters with the other parties beforehand, but all the photoshoots made the ordeal a whole lot longer.

I heard from the CEO that he planned that the book with the most sales would probably be turned into a movie by next year. They were moving fast. It was like they wanted the whole world to play Nornyr.

Then the CEO gave a speech. He should have been the one to open the event but he wasn’t able to come earlier so it was Mr. Armand who opened the event. I heard the CEO had an important meeting somewhere. Now I knew where he went. He brought with him the Congressman Copenhaver.

"Now, let's see where this is going," I said under my breath even though I already had an idea of what they were going to say. I positioned myself to the back of the hall near the exit just to get a clear view of the crowd and the stage.

Mr. Herman Powers, our CEO said to the crowd, “In line with our adherence to the philosophy of a proactive stance in corporate social responsibility, we are now providing a free checkup of the spinal ports of our customers. Everyone who had purchased a pod or will purchase a pod is entitled to this benefit.

“This will be implemented in this country first, and then worldwide once we have equipped all our pod centers with necessary equipment. We do not want a repeat of the regrettable incident that happened concerning a spinal port malfunctioning. I’m sure you all have heard about that. We all want our players to be safe from substandard products.” A wave of murmuring swept the crowd as they discussed the death of the reporter. It was that same dead guy we were investigating. The CEO said over the buzzing of the crowd, "At least with our customers, we would be able to prevent such accidents by checking if any of you, or our future players, have substandard spinal ports installed. Even if you do not use your spinal port, if it is substandard, it can still cause you harm. Remember that."

“I probably should have my own spinal port checked,” I said. The death of the reporter due to a spinal port problem was concerning because it hasn’t happened before. Spinal ports have malfunctioned in the past, rarely causing injuries and no deaths. Not once. I didn’t know about other countries, but I was sure that at least in our country, no one died from a stupid spinal port going awry.

This free offer of the company was taking advantage of the situation, making the most out of it. By offering free check-ups, we were essentially hammering it into the heads of the people that it was the spinal port that was at fault. Even if it were the truth, people were still going to get hysterical over something like that, the media would lap it up and next thing you know, people were going to say that our pods were mind controlling people or something batshit crazy.

Another thing was that this made us look mighty good. Free check-ups? Adding the word free to something made people go wild. Throwing around words like "corporate social responsibility." An advertising opportunity that couldn't be missed. And think of all the good will we can make with our costumers.

All of those benefits of having this promotion paled in comparison to what my actual plan was which needed the forensics report.

The CEO ended his speech by outlining the future plans for the game and upgrading the pod. Then he yielded the stage to Congressman Copenhaver.

It was weird that a congressman was present here. But I had a rough guess why he was here. The crowd applauded him generously. He was the congressman known for supporting technological development. He looked young but exuded strength and maturity, had charisma, and appealed to the younger generation. And he was known as the congressman who played Nornyr Online. There was plenty of media coverage of him playing the game. He wasn’t like those politicians that try to go with the trend and just make you cringe with their awkwardness.

No, nothing like that. Congressman Copenhaver was the perfect poster boy for the gaming industry. Most corporations invested in gadgets supported him, including the JYE, of course.

Congressman Copenhaver greeted the people warmly and said, “To advance, we have to make sure that there will be no substandard products. To maintain our position on the top of the world when it comes to technology, we have to make sure that all our products are high-quality. A corporation that firmly believes in that is JYE.” He went on a tirade of criticizing past products throughout history that caused injuries because of one stupid reason or another, like exploding cell phones, melting RollUps, and who could forget the wrist implants which caused some people to lose their hands.

I covered my mouth to hide a smirk. This guy was good. I wasn’t familiar with who the lobby guy of the group of tech companies that included JYE but I could say that he made the right choice in contacting the congressman. And elections were going to be held in a few months. Cough, donations, cough.

“I will do everything in my power to push for standardization of implants, including spinal port implants,” Copenhaver said with fervor. “This is needed if we want to maintain our status as the world’s technology capital. We do not want a repeat of the exploding wrist implant fiasco, nor do we want any more casualties due to substandard spinal ports.”

And there we have it. The reason why I needed the forensic report. I smiled and started walking out of the hall. It has been literally a couple of decades since I last visited a gaming convention.

I already have confirmed that they were going with my plan so there was no need to stay and listen to the program.

It was a gamble. I had no idea what the report contained, but I had a hunch that it was a substandard spinal port. I mean, how the fuck could a normal spinal port kill a person even if it goes nuts? And I was right. It was a substandard one.

My plan was for our company to lobby for technology standardization policies, implementing standardization of spinal ports in our country. There were loads of reasons for standardization. One of which, and this one was the reason most favorable to JYE, was that every spinal port of everyone could be compatible with the JYE VR pod. Although JYE’s tagline was that the pod was compatible with everything, that wasn’t exactly true.

Some of the ‘less advanced’ spinal ports couldn’t handle the information transferred by the pod. It would be like expecting an internet connection out of a water pipe. If all spinal ports would be standardized to be able to handle the data transfer of the JYE pod, then everyone could be potential customers in the future since more advanced technology would push the price of the pod down.

Once our country started standardizing something, other countries would be pressured to do the same.

I entered the main lobby. “Where’s the hall with the stalls of different game races," I asked the person at the information desk. He directed me to got to the second floor.

Half of the second floor was full VR pods. New content for the game was being tested and opened for exploration by the people. The second half was occupied by stalls dedicated to certain races in the game. I wasn't sure if I could find a stall for the Mardukryons since only a small percentage of the player base chose it.

Large screens were installed inside the large hall, allowing the people inside to watch the events downstairs. There were snippets of conversation regarding the free offer of spinal port check-up. Most people were concerned with their own spinal ports, rightly so.

Was the spinal port of the dead reporter the type that couldn’t handle the data transfer of the JYE pod? No. It could handle the data transfer just fine. But the fact that it was substandard would be the rallying cry for lobbying technology standardization laws. A part of the standardization would be making sure that all spinal ports in the country would be compatible with anything JYE comes out with. It made me smile to think that a company would want technology regulation. Usually, it was advocate groups like those environmentalists who lobby for regulations.

After searching for several minutes, I finally found the Mardukryon stall. It was small compared to other stalls but there was a hologram of a Mardukryon beside their stall. It was a very impressive figure although it was probably not a full-scale model since it was only as large as a person. Only two people were behind the table and no one was hanging around. Other stalls had plenty of people visiting them.

I approached them and stopped. I couldn’t let these people know that I was actually playing the game. I wasn’t sure what effect on my image that would have. I had to think of something to open the conversation with them. They were selling Mardukryon shirts. I want one.

“Excuse me,” I said to the guy who wore a Mardukryon head as mask. It was a full-face mask, with four horns and long tusks. It was well made. The magma veins on the face were actually glowing. The lower pair of eyes had slits while the upper eyes were a shiny red.

Both of them looked up at me. “Oh, a suit from the company,” Mask Guy said as he examined the ID hanging from my neck. I had turned back so that he wouldn't be able to read my name, but he could see the back of the card and it was the same ID the people from JYE were wearing. “What can I help you with, my good sir.”

“I actually haven’t been in a convention since I was a kid. Just asking why people aren’t using holograms for cosplay, if it is still called that.”

“No holograms for cosplay,” the girl beside Mask Guy said curtly.

Mask Guy shrugged. “What she said. It’s like an unspoken rule. No holograms for cosplay unless you’re using it for special effects and whatnot.”

"So like that guy," I said, pointing to a necromancer cosplayer who had holograms of souls floating around him.

"Yup, like that," he said.

“Everything should be real…Well, as real as you can get. Or maybe the right word is physical, or material,” she added. “We can 3D print almost everything anyway, why use holograms. It feels so fake.”

“So much has changed,” I said, looking at the Mardukryon hologram display beside them. “This is such a cool looking race. You could just use a hologram for the lower body.”

Mask Guy took off his mask. We were probably the same age. The difference was that he was blond and had a face full of beard. “Nah, that would be cheating. A large part of cosplaying is actually making the costumes. If only I was an expert in 3D printing then I could have made the lower body of a Mardukryon.” He held up his mask. “I can only make this one.”

I looked at his mask and then at the face of the hologram. “It’s very close,” I said. “I remember that in the past, those who want to cosplay a centaur would put the lower body on wheels. Now, what would that need? Some robotic hind legs could work if you have someone who could make them.”

"Too bad I don't know anyone who could make those," Mask Guy said. "I really wanted to fully cosplay a Mardukryon. Having no lower boy just won't cut it, so I settled for a mask."

"We'll try again next year," the girl said. "If our community in this country grows then maybe we could find help for it."

"Did you also design this shirt? It looks really good," I said.

“Yeah. Looks damn good, huh?”

The shirt had a Mardukryon poised for a charge. It had sort of a surreal coloring that blended into the black background that was the shirt.

"I'll buy it," I said. I held the shirt to my shoulders to check the size.

"Are you playing a Mardukryon too?"

As I took out my card, I said, “No. I'm not playing at all, although I want to play. Maybe someday when my life gets less hectic. Things are just insane right now. Organizing this event, among other things.” I actually had no part in organizing the event. If they only knew me as one of the organizers then they would easily forget about me compared to if I introduced myself as a lawyer of JYE.

“You should make time for yourself,” he said as he placed the shirt in a paper bag.

"I know, I know," I said. "If I do decide to play would you recommend that I try this centaur guy?"

"I'm saying up front that this is harder to play than other races, but it is a rewarding experience and they start off with a beautiful snowy mountain location. Yes, it's a good race to play. And potentially very strong."

“Fucking tedious though,” the girl said.

“Hey, don’t discourage him,” Mask Guy said. "Tell you what, take this." He gave me one of the pamphlets they had stacked on the table."The Mardukryon community in this country has made that guide on the Mardukryon race. It lacks a lot of things since we are only starting to discover stuff in the game-"

"Plus, we're a small community so we can't really do much exploring," the girl interjected.

"But that will change. All the Mardukryon players are now working together for our goal," Mask Guy said. He turned back to me. "I'm giving this to you for free. If you do decide to play, please choose Mardukryons."

"Thanks for this," I said. "By the way, I'm Mr. Stone." I didn't add in the 'Herald' part of my name. "May I know your names? Not your in-game names. I've been forced to call people with their game names all day." There was no need for me to know their names. I would probably never meet them again in real life. But I just had this urge to know about people who played the same race as me. Just like old times, playing with friends. I didn't exactly have any friends inside the game. Such a silly, juvenile feeling.

"You can call me Santi," he said.

"I'm Reid," the gril said.

"Santi, as in Raphael Santi?"

"Actually, Raphael Santi is my given name," he said with a laugh. "It's also my in-game name, but it's spelled differently."

Holy shit. This guy is my poison bottle customer.