INTERLUDE 2

“Albus, Balkor is in chaos.” The old man turned from his book to look at one of his generals who had just entered.

“Wasn’t it already in chaos?”

“Yes, but we had just subjugated the town and more Order members were arriving daily. Unfortunately a boss monster was unleashed on us. Initial reports make it out to be the work of Kenji Shadowen.”

“Let us not confuse fact with the easy explanation. Confirm he is the cause and then we will act.”

“Of course, but the situation is dire and our hold on the city is crumbling.”

“You will go with all our remaining forces in Breckley. I will remain here to ensure our alliance. The other generals will have to work on stabilizing their own regions.”

“What about the harvesting we have been doing. If we mobilize, that operation will come to a halt.”

“Hire NPCs to run it. While not the best option we must stretch our man power.”

“What about Kenji, people will see it as weakness if he is not brought to heal.”

“Hmmm, he did defeat our First Breckley team a while back. Very well, who is the best hunter team?”

“Hunter Team Five, but they are over in the Union at the moment.”

“Hunter Team Four?”

“Killed in Balkor.”

“I will think on the matter then. Good luck general.”

“Thank you Albus.” The general left thinking that his leader took roleplaying way too seriously before his thoughts turned to the Balkor situation.

***

“People of the world. Today marks a grave day for us as a human race. For centuries where there has been progress, there have been those that choose to live in the past. Well today, we say no more. Omnitrek Board of Directors along with the UN Security Council have both voted unanimously to allow Omnitrek Security Services to deploy at all our infrastructure worldwide in cooperation with each counties military. In order to offset the cost Omnitrek is allowing for a one percent tax increase on all its services.”

“Do not fear loyal customers, for your rates will not increase. I, along with the rest of Omnitrek vow to maintain our services and hold to our standard rates despite these troubled times. It is our duty, no, our privilege to serve you all. Thank you for your time.”

“So John, what do you think about what we just heard from Omnitrek’s CEO?”

“These so-called lifer terrorists are in big trouble. A full security deployment hasn’t been seen since the Middle East collapsed.”

“It should be noted that the terrorists primarily aimed for fusion plants during the latest attack, the very thing that collapsed the Middle East over thirty years ago.”

“It also appears that most of the terrorists are Middle Eastern. They also have the lowest percentage of VR capsules of any region. That can’t be coincidence.”

“This just in, we have a live feed from a Mark Seven security drone as it is about to raid a terrorist complex. Warning, this might be graphic for our more sensitive viewers.”

“We can thank Omnitrek Media Services for this real time feed as we strike back at these terrorists. Please note that everything is at one fifth the speed so audio won’t be understandable.”

“Why don’t they just bomb the bunker?”

“Gravimetric scans from orbit show at least three children or small humans. Omnitrek Security Services have a mandate to save everyone twelve and younger so they can be rehabilitated at an Omnitrek Educational Centers.”

“Looks like the Sevens are going in. Oh look they deployed an Aerial Fortress as well. You can see it in the distance over there.”

“Oh, that one who just ran out got splatted.”

“That is why terrorists don’t stand a chance.”

“The Seven is going in. Looks like it is using flame throwers to clear out the corridors.”

“Ouch, that terrorist got melted to the wall.”

“You can kind of see a permanent scream etched into his face.”

“Yeah, I see it also. That will show them.”

“Only five terrorists left and the three children based on the feed we are receiving. They are all in a larger room under the complex.”

“Those gravimetric maps are incredibly useful, wish we had them in FEAR.”

“Would make things too easy. Oh look the Seven is getting ready to move in and save the children.”

“And the terrorists are dead. Perfect shots right between the eyes. One wouldn’t expect any less from a Mark Seven. Oh and they tranquilized the kids to prevent them from seeing this scene. Just look at their shabby clothes, those terrorists were clearly holding them prisoner for some nefarious scheme. They will be going to a much better place now that we freed them.”

“Indeed, well that just goes to show why Omnitrek is the leading mega-corporation, because they care.”

“Well I am glad that they have such a strong sense of civic duty, spending their resources to wipe the terrorists out while keeping their capsule rates low.”

“Well with the new birth tracking laws going into effect next month, Omnitrek will be able to locate any one born on the planet and hopefully stop terrorist activity before it occurs. Hopefully that will allow rates to drop even more.”

“People can always opt out of this service by the way, but then they won’t be able to use Omnitrek services. A good policy that allows for everyone to get what they want.”

“Indeed, so you here about the Buzz Bird in FEAR?”

“Yes, also players have started a bounty to kill one Kenji Shadowen in game for unleashing it. It is currently at ten thousand, five hundred and thirty dollars, but is expected to rapidly increase.”

“Well unleashing boss monsters on towns is fairly serious. We are lucky the Order was around to stop that thing.”

“Indeed, and in other news, a war appears to be brewing in the east with The Union. If anyone is on the ground and can provide some reliable news, it would be appreciated.”

“I am trying to get over there, but unfortunately it is quite far and the oceans are pretty brutal to travel.”

“I heard some players are trying to build some infrastructure to get flying and other technologies going in FEAR. Unfortunately monsters appear to be highly attracted to them. Already one town was overrun after a small generator was built.”

“That does make things more challenging. I wonder what new inventions will come out of this difficultly?”

“We now turn to the Omnitrek Space Program. The first Martian has been born. Unfortunately due to the low gravity environment, Alissa perished moments after birth.”

“That is sad news. Hopefully the gravimetric technology Omnitrek is researching will help solve these problems.”

“Stay tuned for a quick word from our sponsors, we will be right back with the latest news.”

“Omnitrek Media Services, showing the world as it truly is.”

“Rose Labs, proud supplier of VR nutrition in the form of Soylent.”

“Omnitrek Security Services, protecting the world one person at a time.”

“Omnitrek Power Generation, keeping your capsules running.”

“TechHub, the leading service provider for all your VR capsule needs.”

***

Author’s Note: I have nothing against the Middle East. Unfortunately the culture/religion in the region tends towards the extreme and intolerant. Also the entire region is supported by oil. When Fusion Power becomes a reality in the next 10-20 years that entire region will collapse into poverty most likely. It would then be a reasonable step to assume that their anger would be targeted at Omnitrek, who is taking more and more control over every aspect of their lives, while they remain poor.

Look up ITER in France to see the progress on fusion power. Also Rose Labs is real along with Soylent. Look it up. I would say it tastes like liquefied cheerios, and much better chilled. I honestly believe this is what the world will look like in fifty years if VR is possible.

For the most part this is a sub-plot to our MC’s adventures. But I do read the reviews and decided to give you a glimpse into what a world run by a caring and benevolent mega-corporation would look like. Saving children, killing terrorists, and making the world a safer place. This is not the focus of my story, since it would be hard to have a MC.

***

Science Corner: For those of you who don’t want to read through the technical stuff on fusion on wikipedia let me break it down here for you. Feel free to use this for your school papers ;p. Not a teacher btw, but I appreciate the votes.

Fusion is the process where two atoms come together to form a larger atom/heavier element and release some stored energy. The sun and stars are perfect examples of fusion, the intense gravity forces the Hydrogen close enough to combine into Helium and release the energy that is the Sun.

This process normally does not occur because of the Strong Nuclear Force. There are four fundamental forces that hold our universe together, Strong Nuclear Force, Weak Nuclear Force, Electromagnetism, and Gravity. The Strong Nuclear Force is the attraction and repulsion of protons and electrons. This operates on a micro scale. Gravity operates on a macro scale, which is why it takes a lot of Gravity to overcome the Strong Nuclear Force. This is also why the sun is huge and why the core of our planet doesn’t begin the Fusion process since Earth is too small.

I explain all of this to help convey in the challenge of fusion power which is energy containment. Since we cannot produce gravity we have to rely on intense magnetic fields and heat to overcome the Strong Nuclear Force. This is the biggest hurdle to fusion power, creating a containment system strong enough to contain super-heated plasma at millions of degrees under intense pressure.

ITER is a collaboration project between nations to build a test reactor as a proof of concept. A giant donut shaped containment chamber is being constructed where an intense magnetic field will be generated. This will be used to suspend the super-heated plasma in a vacuum. Tritium and deuterium will then be injected to fuel the fusion process.

Tritium and deuterium are fancy names for water with three neutrons and two neutrons respectively on their hydrogen atoms. This extra mass lowers the energy barrier to initiate fusion. Another name for this is heavy water. While some naturally occurs in trace amounts, this is normally generated by bombarding water with radiation.

Fusion power has no risks. If the containment is breached the process will just shut off naturally as it comes in contact with the air. There is no radiation or waste. The only thing given off is heat and extra neutrons which is called neutron flux.

In case you are wondering, nuclear energy is fission. This is where heavy (lots of electrons, protons, and neutrons) elements like Uranium split apart and generate heat as they do so. This process can be regulated which is where nuclear energy comes in or nuclear bombs. The primary problems are the radioactive waste products and the risk of a containment breach leading to a runaway reaction.

The only cost for Fusion power will be the infrastructure to house the reactor, a lot, upkeep, a lot less than other plants, and finally the fuel which is water. Energy prices would easily plummet as nations would race to build fusion plants to solver energy demands in a cheap and environmentally friendly way.

I bet you probably thought I was just a brutish thug who liked senseless violence. You come for the blood and stay for the lecture. Now you can impress your family over Christmas with some worldly knowledge.