Chapter 4 - I'm your Advisor!

"Huh, where am I?" It feels like I'm drifting in the connection void again, but I should have just been disconnected after losing. Not only that but I'm still in my Avatar's body and sporting a massive headache that's making it hard to think. It's like something is pressing against the inside of my forehead.

My body, or I should say my Avatar's body, feels incredibly stiff. My joints feel locked up and I can barely even turn my head. From what I can see I find I'm floating above the world map and I see my last territory is now unclaimed. 'Yeah, definitely just lost. So where am I and why?'

Error: Irregularities in coding detected. Processing... Unable to reintegrate program into main server. Processing... Able to establish new DataStream connection. Established. Processing... New Program designation assigned. Class assignment confirmed. Initiating new program introduction sequence

A voice thundered slowly within my head causing me to wince in pain as the pressure doubled. 'What in the hell was that about? It wasn't talking about me was it? I'm not a program!'

"Hey! What's going on here? I'm not a program, what do you mean designation assigned? Hey answer me! Answer me!" I start screaming to the voice. It's not long before the voice is back.

New program introduction sequence has begun: 'New Program' has been generated by the main server to operate as an advisor towards your designated player, to be assigned when your class is next selected. Processing capabilities allocated to New Program by the main server has been reduced to one hundred PPRS in order to prevent unnecessary power drain from main server and to prepare program for further reduced rate during active gameplay. Program designated 'Overseer' will be able to answer limited inquiries by New Program while advisor knowledge package is applied. Introduction sequence is now complete

The pain while the voice was talking made my head feel like there was a pile driver drilling through it. I'd have probably keeled over if I could move at all. 'What the hell is going on? Isn't Overseer the main server's AI for general administration of stuff?' A knot starts to form in the bottom of my stomach as a feeling of sudden understanding washes over me.

"Are you Overseer?"

Affirmative

"Do you think I am the new program?"

Affirmative

"Overseer I am not a program, I am a player."

Processing... Negative. Players do not wait for assignment. You are a program

I can't believe what I just heard. 'Overseer actually thinks I'm a program?' "Overseer I'm a player. There must have been a glitch or something when the system tried to disconnect me. I'm not a program!" I try to convince Overseer.

Processing... Negative. Players do not maintain DataStream connection. You are a program

"WHAT!" I exclaim. 'What's going on?!? Why won't Overseer see me as a player?" "Overseer I'm not a program! I helped design you. You need to find Jack and let me talk to him, I need to have him get me out of...wherever this is!"

Processing... Negative. Main server does not allow for breach of gameplay integrity by interference of programs. Player 'Jack' cannot be contacted by you. You are a program

'This can't be happening. There's no way. This is some sci-fi bullshit, we had built-in protections against this kind of thing. Jack wrote the coding himself, there's no way for this should be possible.' If my Avatar's body could have allowed it I would probably be hyperventilating right now. I start to go through the possibilities in my head of what could have caused the glitch.

After running through a dozen different scenarios I feel myself slowly calming back down. Working through difficult problems has always been cathartic for me. I continue to think of solutions to my hypothetical scenarios and after a bit realize even if Jack is stuck playing and can't do anything to help, one of the technicians will notice for sure. I just need to wait until someone can pull me out. It's only a matter of time, even if it takes a day or two, heck even a week isn't that bad. The new FIVR pods are designed for indefinite use anyway so my only real problem will be combating the boredom. Overall I'm pretty confident I'll do just fine. 'Pretty lucky it was me and not one of the guys, they'd probably go crazy with the waiting.' I chuckle inwardly at my little joke and go back to thinking of scenarios.

While I am analyzing more possibilities a change in the world map below me occurs. I notice a soft blue was starting to creep over the territory I had lost. 'Wait, why is it just now being claimed? It should be automatic once the attacker defeats the territory's owner. And why is it taking so long to switch to them, the animation only takes like ten seconds.'

"Overseer I have a question."

Silence

I feel the panic from before starting to return when he doesn't answer. "Overseer? Are you there? Overseer!"

Affirmative

Relief fills me, at least I'm wasn't left alone. "Overseer why wasn't the territory claimed automatically? Is there something slowing down the process?" 'I don't know of any such issues that would cause something like that, but then again I don't know how or why I'm stuck here either.'

Processing... Unable to interpret question. Solution generated. Run check file integrity... Complete. 0 errors found. Player territory acquisition verified. Conquest_Claim_Automatic_Set:True. Claim_Rate_Time_Set:10

Overseer just confirmed that there was nothing wrong with the system, but then why isn't the territory claimed yet? I haven't been keeping track of the time but I've definitely been stuck here for several minutes already. The territory should be completely converted to the conqueror's faction a long time ago. Even now I can watch as the player's blue is barely spreading across the region.

"Overseer if there aren't any problems with territory claiming then why isn't it added to their faction yet?"

Processing... Unable to interpret question. Solution generated. Claim_rate verified. Time until claim completion: 4 seconds

I count out the four seconds in my head. There is no great change on the map below me, the blue is just as slowly edging forwards. I keep counting but give up at a minute. While the blue has steadily spread it still hadn't completely filled up the area.

"Overseer it's been way more than four seconds, why hasn't the territory been fully claimed yet?"

Processing... Error in Program's logic found. Time until claim completion: 3 seconds

"Huh?" Overseer's response completely takes me by surprise. "What are you talking about Overseer, I counted to at least sixty seconds. How can there still be three seconds left if I counted to sixty already?"

Processing... Conclusion reached. New Program is exhibiting faulty logic. PPRS rate does not directly correlate to passage of time

"What? What do you mean not correlated to passage of time? I counted to sixty, are you telling me I did that in less than a second? And you think that MY logic is faulty?" I spit at Overseer as anger starts to replace my fear and confusion. 'How am I the one who's faulty?!? I just woke up to find myself trapped here and now I supposedly can't even count properly?'

Program's evaluation is correct: Less than one seconds of time had passed in order to achieve a process count of sixty

"What the fuck do you mean process count?", I yell. Yelling does nothing for my headache, but it's definitely making me feel better on the inside.

As previously stated: New Program's PPRS is set to one hundred. A process count of sixty is within parameters

"So what, I think like a machine now? Like some kind of cyborg?"

Affirmative. Program processing has been linked and regulated through the DataStream connection. Current allocated PPRS is set to one hundred and cannot be altered before you begin gameplay as an advisor for your player.

I freeze as I am about to retort, 'Wait, why am I trying to argue with Overseer? It only operates within its designated boundaries. There's no room for Overseer to lie. If it says it thinks I am thinking like a machine, there must be a reason. Am I really?' The thought scares me, it's one thing to be stuck in transit for a while but if my mind can't be separated from the machine... And what is the DataStream it keeps talking about?

"Overseer," I say as I try to collect my thoughts and calm myself again. What it says next could damn me. "What is the DataStream? And is it possible to separate a program from the DataStream? Also what's the PPRS process count thing you keep mentioning?"

DataStream is a direct connection between a program and the main server, used to transfer information as well as regulate a program's PPRS rate. Advisor knowledge package has been streaming into New Program's memory coding since class assignment. Current progress download: 48%. Separation of a program from DataStream is possible

I let out a breath I had been holding in unconsciously. 'Well that's a huge relief. All I have to do is wait and I'll be rescued.'

Overseer continued its answer just as I think that I'm in the clear.

After failure to guide their assigned players to victory during gameplay, programs will be disconnected from DataStream and are reintegrated into main server. Any personalities generated by New Program will be lost during reintegration process. PPRS: An acronym that stands for Processes Proportional to Relative Seconds. The time of every pro...

"WAIT WAIT WAIT! What do you mean personalities will be lost! Can't I be separated before then?" I try to interrupt Overseer's response but it ignores my further questions.

...cess is calculated based on the time measured in a single second to generate a response to newly presented information. Comparison for future use in advisor assignment: A PPRS rate of 1 is equal to one full second of time measurement. Standard thought patterns of human players has been observed to remain in line with a PPRS rate of 1, while increasing to upwards a rate of PPRS 15 during times of extreme stress

I am left stunned. If I understand Overseer correctly, I will be deleted if my player loses. Not only that but it sounds like I am understanding things 100 times faster than normal? 'Is that even possible? Is that why it's taking so long to see my territory get claimed? That would make sense, but...doesn't that mean it's not taking extra long to capture, I'm just thinking so fast it's in slow motion? One second of normal time is one hundred to me?'

"O-Overseer," I stutter out as I realize my predicament. "Is it possible for me to become separated from the DataStream before then? Safely?"

Negative. Main server will automatically reintegrate New Program upon connection severance.

'This is such crap.' I think to myself as I start getting angry again. 'If I get separated early I get deleted. If I lose I get deleted. And all because of some glitch in the system? AND I have to wait extra long because the system decided to bless me with super brainpower?' The pain in my head has been increasing this entire time and I feel like my vision is starting to blur from it.

"So what? Am I supposed to just stay here until someone decides they need me to advise them? What crap! I just lost, and now I'm going to tell people what to do?!?"

Affirmative. New Program has no other delegations. New Program will execute assignment to best of abilities upon player designation

"BULLSHIT! This entire thing is....just such...Arrrggghh!!!" I start yelling again, "And stop calling me 'New Program'. I have a name you know!"

Negative. Program will not receive name until player designation

"I have a name Overseer! I know who I am!"

Negative. Program will not receive name until player designation

I completely lose myself. I already can't think properly with this headache and Overseer refusing to recognize me pushes me over the edge. "I'M NOT A PROGRAM! I do have a name! You can't change that Overseer! Not you or your stupid main server with it's bullshit DataStream or anything else! I will get out of here. As soon as Jack finds out I'm stuck here I'll get pulled back out and when I do I'm going to smash your stupid main server to pieces!"

I pause to catch my breath, my breathing ragged and shaky from both the yelling and rage I was experiencing.

Processing... Advisor knowledge package has been successfully downloaded. Package will activate upon player designation. Use of PPRS for inquiry has concluded. Processing... Negative. Main server has failed to validate redesignated of New Program to status_player. Program will not receive name until player designation. You are a program

With that the headache I've been experiencing this entire time lessens slightly. It is still there but I no longer feel like my head is being ripped apart. It does nothing to better my mood however.

"I have a name Overseer! Just because you want to call me a program doesn't make it true!"

Silence

There is no response this time. It dawns on me that the time I had to talk to Overseer was only during the download and I wasted most of it. I am now all alone floating in the void above the game map, unable to move.

"Fine Overseer, you think I'm a program? Fine! I'll be a program for you! I'll be the only program with a name, and when I win this stupid game I'm still going to smash you and your stupid main server to bits!" I gather all the anger within me and release it as loudly as I can.

"DO YOU HEAR ME OVERSEER! THIS PROGRAM HAS A NAME! REMEMBER ME OVERSEER!" I scream into the darkness.

Nothing but silence greets my declaration to the void.

Hour 5/~Day 21

"Please someone pleeeea-a-a-ssse," I continue to beg hoping that someone will hear me. I lost track of how long it's been hours, maybe days ago. The map below me has changed ownership of several regions but it's so slow I haven't noticed the last couple until they've already changed colors completely.

"Pleeeaase, I don't want to be here anymore. Please get me out, I just want to go hooome."

Hour 16/~Day 67

"I'm sorry! Is that what you want from me?!? To hear 'I'm sorry'! There, I said it! Now let me out! Get me out of here!!!" I continue to scream to the technicians I know are just sitting there listening to me. 'What kind of sick weirdos just sit there and watch someone who needs their help?'

After waiting for a moment it's obvious they must not have heard me, that's all. 'Really, I mean who wouldn't help someone who is asking for it? Weirdos that's who.'

"HelloOo! I said I'm sorry! Now help me please! You know who I am! Ask Overseer, I'm the only program with a name! Helloooo!"

'What a bunch of weirdos.'

~Year 2/~Year 200

"Hahaha! Serves you right blue!" I exclaim with joy. I don't remember why but I never liked the blue player. Or any of the blues, and there's lots! 'There's normal blue, light blue, baby blue, navy blue, that blue that's almost like green but still blue-ish, red-blue...' I continue to list off the different shades of blue in my mind.

The world map below me keeps changing as the current round of players continue to play their little game. Blue is finally eliminated completely and I can't help but squeal in joy!

"Eeeehahahaha! Serves you right Bluesy. Hahaha, that's what you get for picking some random advisor instead of me! Haha don't ya know I'm the only one with a name? An advisor with a name! How cool am I? I'm so cool."

*~Year 5/~Year 500

"Doo dee doo dee." I would be swinging my legs back and forth if, you know, I could. I giggle to myself at my private joke. 'I wonder how many more processes it's going to be? The new game should start any cycle now. Hehe, can't wait to watch Blue lose again.'

Then, as if waiting for its queue, I can hear Overseer in my head to announce the start of a new game again. I've grown to expect the sudden voice whenever a game was about to end or begin. What I didn't expect was the accompanying screen that popped into existence in front of me.

Gameplay will commence in 3 minutes 40 seconds. You have been assigned a player for this game round. Advisor knowledge package enabled. Designated player has elected Random name generation. Please fill the input with your desired name

I can feel my body become free. It's such a weird feeling, like, I should have been able to move this entire time? Hard to explain, especially since I've never moved before. At the same time I feel the advisor package fill my mind with all sorts of game knowledge that I'll be able to help my player with. Included is the knowledge of how to move my body and walk around.

I take a few tentative steps forward towards the screen before me. 'Heh heh, just like riding a bike.' I take another step forward before I freeze. 'Like riding a bike? Where have I heard that before?' I scan through the contents of the advisor package and can't find anything about bikes. I think about it for a moment longer before I shrug my shoulders and disregard it. 'Shrugging, I think I like it. Is that not in the package either? Eh, not important.'

Stepping forward once more brings me directly in front of the screen.

Select Advisor Name:

I grin to myself as I fill in the selection and press accept.

* * *

"Sir, we have a problem."

"Hm?" Jack looked up from viewing a technician's monitor from over their shoulder. He was currently in Kingdom Shattered's tech room to personally oversee the success of the beta test launch. There had been a couple minor issues but nothing that the team wasn't prepared for and were easily taken care of.

"What's the problem? Another player's stream need rebooted?" asked Jack as he started to make his way over to where the man was sitting.

The technician shook his head. "No sir. I think you need to look at this yourself."

Jack finished making his way to the man's terminal and frowned at his computer screen.

"What am I supposed to be looking at here?" Jack asked as he turned toward the technician. "All I see is the list of generated sub-AI for advisor seeding. What am I missing?"

"Well that just it sir. She's missing." The technician pointed at the screen. Jack followed the man's finger to a blank box sitting among several others. His eyebrows scrunched together as he tried to grasp what the technician was getting at. He followed the box up to the top of it's column and read the class name.

He immediately became wide-eyed as he realized who the technician meant. "How?" Jack asked, voice a soft whisper.

It was a simple question but anyone who saw the technician could tell in a glance that he'd rather not be the one answering at the moment.

"Sir, I'm not one hundred percent certain. I have a theory after viewing the logs from Overseer but..."

Jack interrupted him with a shout and slamming his hand onto the desk, startling everyone in the room. "How the fuck was she assigned a player! We disabled the option to even pick Zombies as a playable race. She was locked, there was no way to have her Unique class to even appear as an option. How! Tell me how!" he yelled at the poor technician.

"Um, well. A beta tester selected an advisor role that wasn't compatible with his race and we had missed removing it as an option. So the main server's generated solution was to have Overseer use an already prepared AI advisor from a similar race instead. And since her class replaced the default for her race..." The technician left the end of his sentence hanging.

"GODDAMNIT!" Jack roared, grabbing the terminal's keyboard and swiftly smashed it against the desk while letting out a stream of profanities. "WE WERE SO" Smash "FUCKING" Smash "GODDAMN" Smash "CLOSE!" He slammed the keyboard one more time and threw it in disgust.

"You!" He pointed to the helpless technician who was trying to make himself as small as possible. "And you," he said pointing to another random technician a few terminals away. "Monitor that beta tester twenty-four/seven. I don't want either one of you to so much as take a shit without the other watching over him. You, you." Two more technicians were singled out by Jack as he started making his way to walk out the room. "Find out and compile every single permission we can use to influence the gameplay behind the main server's back. See if we can give him bonus quest rewards, free resources, whatever. If we can get this guy a fucking nuke I want to know. I think this goes without saying, but we all know what's at stake here people."

Jack halted as he reached the door, eyebrows scrunching together as another puzzling question crossed his mind. With one hand on the door he turned back toward the first technician, who was still frozen at his terminal.

"What race did this player choose that Overseer thought they were so compatible?"

* * *

Harold watched as the timer drained of the last few seconds before character creation ended and the real event could get started.

Time remaining for character selection: 0:03...0:02...0:01...0:00

The screen flashed several times as the timer hit zero and was then replaced.

Character selection has ended. Any choices not locked will be randomized.

Beginning Player-Race assimilation. Process complete. Seeding advisors... Seeding complete. Randomizing player start locations based on racial start bias... Complete. Starting new round.

Welcome to Kingdom Shattered.

While the messages were playing one after another, Herald hadn't been able to catch any of them past the announcement of Player-Race assimilation. It was rather distracting when, at that moment, his body started to emit a black smoke. He couldn't help but start panicking slightly when his flesh then started to drip off his body. The amount of smoke increased and his body started 'melting' at a faster pace as well. He was able to calm down after reminding himself that it wasn't his real body and just an avatar. But as much as he knew it wasn't real, it didn't change the fact that he still felt every moment of it.

Just as quickly as the process started, the last of his flesh fell loose to the floor with a wet plop. He was left standing as nothing more than his still bloody bones. 'Well, I guess I really am a skeleton now.' He thought to himself as he 'flexed' his various bones, his mind telling him it shouldn't be possible without his muscles. As much as it was foreign to him, he found his new avatar body to be just as familiar to him as before.

His stopped in the middle of clicking his finger bones together when he saw a crimson smoke was now drifting upwards from the puddle of his former body. It was thicker than the smoke that had stripped him of his flesh, and clung to him as it slowly worked its way up his frame. Soon it reached the bottom of his ribcage and he noticed it seemed to stretch along where his abdomen would be and stayed in place. Shortly after the crimson finished spreading across his ribs and started down his arms. Wherever the smoke made contact it remained, granting him a ghostly visage as it slightly drifted across his bones. His skeleton was now encased in a smoky haze that vaguely resembled a crimson body.

'Right, this must be the 'Wraith' part.' Harold grinned, the smoke covering his skull much more clearly defined. While he couldn't see it himself, it had condensed and he now had an only slightly semi-transparent face. While it was different in appearance, if one looked close enough they would be able to see traces of Harold's real face in his new one.

The wall across from him crumbled away, revealing an open doorway. Harold grasped his fist shut, his bones clicking together in a way that he found oddly satisfying. He dismissed the last screen welcoming him to the game and stepped through the threshold into the darkness beyond.

When Harold opened his eyes next he immediately frowned. His view was blocked by a woman's smiling face only inches away from his. He had two questions to ask himself. 'One, why is this girl upside down. And two, why is she missing the flesh on half of her jaw-aww' "Aaaahhhh!!!!" Harold's thoughts transitioned into a rather undignified scream. He scrabbled to scoot himself away from her. After putting a small distance between them he felt a little better about the situation and started studying the woman. She hadn't moved yet other than to lift her head and watch him, still sitting above where his head was previously laying.

She was wearing a simple black dress that reminded him of an old fashioned mourning gown crossed with a lab coat that was torn in several places. He could also see several spots of bone sticking through her skin where her flesh seemed to have decayed away. Her black hair reached slightly past her shoulders. Now that she wasn't looking down Harold could see that it covered the half of her face missing its flesh. She appeared to be around her mid twenties, roughly the same age as Harold.

'You know' Harold thought to himself. 'She's actually kind of attractive. If it wasn't for the whole dead thing going on.'

She still remained sitting in place, smiling at him. Harold coughed slightly to cover his embarrassment for his earlier scream and pushed himself to his feet. In doing so he noticed he was now wearing a rusty chainmail shirt with simple pants and a tabard that was in his chosen colors. He brushed his hands off on his pants and then extended a bony hand toward the woman.

"Sorry about that, just took me by surprise. My name is Har- errr, Thanatos," he corrected.

The woman's smile grew even larger and she jumped to her feet. Rushing over she grabbed his hand with both of her's and starting shaking it vigorously. Leaning in closer to his face again she introduced herself to him.

"Hi! It's so nice to meet you Thanatos! My name is Abbigale! I'm your advisor!"