Jason McKenzie stood in a big office, forty stories up, looking out over a phenomenal scenery of both the metro pole underneath them as nature that spread across the horizon outside of the city. The scenery was in stark contrast of the atmosphere in the office. A man in a handmade suit, making angry gestures at a hologram on his desk. The rest of the office was cold and empty, only one frame hung on the wall where a dollar bill was framed in. The man had said it was his first dollar he made in the business. The cliché. Jason always expected there to be blood on the other side but so far he had never verified his suspicions.

He was waiting for the man, his boss, to stop his tirade against the woman-shaped hologram, so he could be briefed on his next assignment. He was the head of security for Nsquared, a company that created games for the masses. Had been for around twenty-five years now and knew of the long history the company had gone through to get where it was now. He also knew in detail about the illegal things the company had done to get where it was now. It was almost impossible to get anywhere without going a little off the road of true justice. Nsquared on the other hand was becoming more and more attached to the road side. The gutter. Where the creatures that pounced on the weak lay in wait to gain advantage.

n the past, he had never bothered with thinking of what he was doing or if what he condoned would ever come back to haunt him. It had been fourteen years since they found out that once the body connected to the PODs, the user’s consciousness uploaded into the game world along with playing the game. They also found out that if they disconnected that connection by "accident" the consciousness would stay in the game but would forget about his real life. They would act the same way the NPC's were. Nobody noticed they were still in game because most were shipped off to other games on the same servers. Sure, sometimes people found out, most of the time because they met a friend or relative. At those times, he and his team would come into the picture, or the gaming company would accidentally disconnect the person if they were in time to act.

There had been a lot outrage. How could so many players, human beings, die, without outrage? But that outrage was not directed at the gaming companies but instead at the hardware companies. The companies that provided the needed PODs. Empty shell corporations that were run by the gaming companies, he patsies. If it ever came to a global outrage, one that could not be controlled or heads needed to roll, then the wallet came out. Some money at the right places and everything was just dandy again. Until the next batch.

The worst part was that the people going missing were obliviously not being used as extra NPC's, but for their cognitive processing power. A scientist had found out how to link multiple consciousness together. The goal had been to build a super mind. Which, if controlled in the right way, could function as a high-end AI. She wanted to hide this creation but was already too late to undo the repercussions. Failing to check if her computer was being monitored by the company she was doing the research for, his gutter company, Nsquared. AI had been something very far from actual Sci-Fi norms, games for the PODs running on very rudimentary AI or an extreme amount of coding. This caused the new AI tech to be a revolution. Which made the gaming industry billions. What was more important than that was that it made them powerful beyond compare.

The VR movement was not powerful because they earned tons of money, everybody could earn tons of money. Corporations like Google and Apple were making tons of money but were far from the power Nsquared had gotten his hands on. What would happen if a country cut you off of all facilities and threatens you with military force? Right you're not so tough anymore. Now what if 80% of AI in the world are being controlled and run on your own servers, what if those AI are being used by all the top countries and you get protection in return? Once the idea was out of the box, there was no putting it back in. In fourteen years the company had outgrown all of its competitors and was one, if not the largest in the industry.

"Haven't you trapped enough poor souls?" The woman screamed, she was the lead designer for his companies next project. She was not so by choice. Blond hair, blue eyes, with a short stature she was a very attractive woman. She also had a knack to annoy his boss, Mario Lacerta, with questions. "That is none of your business my dear, but just so you know you will be a part of it. This will be the last game that this company creates. Just be glad you no longer have to work directly with me." He smiled at her but the smile was nowhere near something that could be called friendly. The short bold man, had a trimmed beard on his face, compensating for what he lacked on his head. His perfect teeth were shining, but the smile gave him the aura of a predator. His sharp nose between his green eyes, hard and icy. The look on his face confirming he really didn't like this woman.

"What are you planning to do with me?" Jason could see the woman frown, slightly wrinkling her face. "Ah my dear, you will just have to wait and see. I hope you will enjoy the game, and don't worry you will still be working for me, just not in direct contact. Which will be marvelous. I still need those illusionary brain cells of yours to check up on the AI regularly." He smiled again, adjusting his custom-made Armani before saying "Now, be gone." Her image disappeared from his projector, as he pushed a key on a screen in front of him. Looking up he saw Jason, then smiled. This time with a little bemusement in them as he said "Ah Jason, just the man I need…" Jason's heart flinched a little, he knew what the smile meant, he would be sent out on something nasty again. He would make sure this company was raised to the ground for what they had done, to all those people, they thought they had him with all he had done for them. Wait until the right time, then strike. It needed to be when they were weakest, he had time. Turning a smile on his face he looked at the man he called his boss before lowering his head, saying "How can I help you sir?" He would murder this cold-blooded lizard first.