EPISODE 2: A NEW LIFE

Arthur’s POV

I had told Dr. Crane to get out of there as soon as the admin access had been granted to me. Within 30 seconds I had started the virtual copy, all the files on the pod were safely sitting on my own server.

Gods, I love high speed quantum optics.

“Doc, you in the van yet?” I asked. “Yeah? Yes, that’s good.” I switched off the call. The doctor would soon reach our lair with newly acquired pod and game. However, that was far too slow for my tastes. That’s why I had created a virtual replica of the pod and game. While the doctor arrived from Central city, I could get the fun started here.

Judging from the file sizes, the beta was still not available for me to play. The program would be available to me and all others from tomorrow. While I could still theoretically gain access, I decided to wait. I had waited for 5 years. A day extra would not matter in the long run. Hacking now could even tip off DreamIsle on what we were doing. And it was vital that they did not know what we were doing.

The Beta had many differences from the final version. The most important was, of course, their Overseer A.I. The Overseer A.I. was the main A.I. that would run the game once it started. Basically the God of the gameworld. She (generally they are female, however males are also possible) would be responsible for all the player monitoring, the NPC A.I. , the environmental factors and all that.

In the beta however, the developers themselves would be monitoring. That is because the beta is still not the actual Fable of Fantasy. Here’s how it works. The beta is a slice of the game of a specific place, with boundaries set in stone. Once the beta is over and the developers satisfied, they will initialize the world with the Overseer. Then they allow the world to evolve for 5000 years. At this point, it is basically the Overseer and the NPCs filling their own and the world’s backstory. So even the developers cannot know the history of the world. No changes can be made once the Overseer is switched on.

So, the whole game’s success depends on her. The Overseer will also create the backstory for the arrival of the players, and provide their in-game rationale for their undying and unstoppable growth.

Dad would have seriously loved this game.

I still remember that day. From the breakfast to the end. From the amount of juice he drank in the morning to the blood he spilled in the afternoon.

With perfect clarity.

Of all things that I regret that day, my words cause me the most pain. I should have been kinder. I should have said “Good morning, dad !” instead of

>

“Good morning, father.”

“Arty! Come on kid!! Is it so hard to call me Dad for once?” Father shouts jovially. He’s shirt is still wet from his morning jog. “I made some pancakes! And we have raspberry juice, your favourite!” I still do not understand how he manages to sound so upbeat about something so mundane as breakfast.

I sit down at his right, as is custom. I thank Bertha as she serves me my food. “Father, we need to talk.”

“WHAT?! Who is she? When did you meet her?” I swear, it’s like he screams each sentence so that it directly hits your brain.

“No, it’s not,- I don’t have a girlfriend. It’s about business. My iterative A.I. that I told you about, LOTUS, is finished. My preliminary tests are over. LOTUS will work. It can break through the singularity.”

“HA HA HA. That’s great, Arty! Let me just call Alex –“

“No. Father, wait. Are you seriously considering selling the best A.I. technology to some nobody game company. You must reconsider! I know you love games, but this way we wouldn’t even be making a profit!”

“What are you talking about son? Alexei and I agreed to share the profits equally between us.”

“That would work if he was investing equally. But we are the ones who are doing all the actual work! The A.I. , the pods -”

“Arty, enough. Sometimes, great dreams require great risks. Can’t you see it? The game will be successful! I believe it.” He looked at me and then smiled. “I have an idea. Let’s visit the office today, you and me. I will show the headgear and you can see the development for yourself. And then you can tell whether we will profit from this venture or not. How’s that sound?”

“Very well, Father. But if it does not work, I’m afraid I would have to cancel it.”

>

In hindsight, the trainwreck of our relationship is crystal clear to me. Why did I treat business as more important than our relationship? Why couldn’t I have told him that I loved him? Why couldn’t I show that I cared? Perhaps if I was different, he might have listened to me.

He might have still been alive.

“Lost in your memories, kid?” The good doctor had come in just now. “Don’t do it, boy. Memories such as that cause nothing but pain. I should know.Hmmm.Well, better prepare yourself. Midnight is just two hours away. You aren’t having second thoughts are you?”

“Doctor, DON’T. Let me remind YOU, that this whole IDEA was given by ME. SO don’t you dare.DON'T DARE to tell me that I AM HAVING SECOND THOUGHTS!”

I was quite angry when I heard him and his idea about his damn second thoughts. I gave myself a few moments to calm down. Passion is the enemy of precision. Calm down.

Slow and steady.

“I am sorry.”I apologized to the doctor. He was my only remaining friend. He had the right to question me.

“Apology accepted.”He looked at me and we then shook hands. ''Holding grudges don't help anybody."

I grunted in acknowledgement.

We soon got down to work, improving the pod, so that I could play without any risks and such and making sure the pod and data transfer were untraceable to the servers. It took quite a while, but it was necessary.

“Well, it’s about time. You ready? I will keep in touch, contact you with the servitor if something comes up, okay?’’

The servitor was the program I designed which would allow the doctor to communicate with me once I was in the game.

The Beta had started. I decided to login.

“Arthur, diving in !” I shouted as I logged onto the server. I did this every time I put on the headgear. It reminded me of the mecha anime heroes with their catchphrases every time they sat in their cockpit.

I arrived in a white spaceless room, typical of the VR loading screen. And then he arrived in front of me.

Alexei Luthor.

‘Good day, lucky player. Welcome to my wor-’’

And my memories came rushing back.

>

I was walking down an endless field of green. There was a light breeze that I could feel. The clouds were just the right hue. It looked real. It felt real.

“Ha, so how do you like it Arty? Still think the game will fail? I hired the very best for the designing process! Wait and watch Art, this is going to be the best game ever! Hey, Alexei, what do you think, huh?’’

“I think it’s quite beautiful, Mr. Robert. However, there is a problem with the nervegear. The immersion settings do not yet comply with the government regulations. They fear that in case of an accident our applicants will not be able to …wake up.”

“Isn’t that quite a minor problem? Simply change the settings and we can easily-’’

“No, sir. They are asking for a newer, better, non intrusive model.”

“I see, I see. This will set us back by more than 20 years. Ah, it’s a huge problem.”

I was watching from nearby. Our company’s nervegear allowed for a deeper and better experience but seems like the government was afraid and pushing for cheaper alternatives. This was destined to hurt our sales. I was afraid that we would have to branch out to other fields. Surgery, or –

“Don’t worry, Sir Robert. There’s a simple solution.”

“Eh? What is it?”

“ For you to die. Once you do, the company becomes mine, and I am free to partner myself with Ruarke Industries and their headgear technology. Then, I can easily sell the game! What do you think Robert? Are you ready to die?”

“What sort of nonsense is-”

I had started running towards them. “FATHER, get away! He’s serious! He means it!”

Both of them turned towards me. And I saw the blood spill from my father’s lips. I will never forget that moment.

I was too late.

>

-enjoy the beta!’’

The murderer’s recording had finally stopped. It was customary for the CEO to give a customary message to the players before beginning the game. In this case, I had to listen to the bullshit of Alexei Luthor.

New player discovered!

Due to the Beta restrictions, you will be born in Imperial City, Kingdom of Cyrodriil !

Due to beta restrictions, your race is human!

Please wait. Calibrating.

Various colours flash in front of me. Violet, blue, green yellow, orange and red.

Red.

I remember the red.

>

“What have you done to him?’’ I scream at Alexei. My father had simply collapsed on the ground.

When I turned him over, I saw his body drenched in blood. I couldn’t understand what was happening.

“This is a demonstration, actually. The nerve gear accurately deduced the three .9 caliber that was fired in his heart in reality, and reproduced it here. See? The government was right to want better.”

“I am going to-’’

“To do what, kid? You are going to be joining him.”He laughed.

“Without me, your A.I.-”

“Ah! Nice bluff, but your father already called to tell that his son had completed the LOTUS. Nice work. Your father would be proud! We can handle it from here onwards. Well, kill him.”

As he was speaking, a searing pain pierced my chest. I had been shot, I realized. I could no longer stand and my vision began to go blurry. I..

“Goodbye, kid. This is the end of your life.”

>

Are you ready to begin your new life?YesNo

The screen stares at me.

I press on YES.

Back to Main Page

The loading screen

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Tables are hard. Someone tell me why.*sobs*