Chapter 12

Well, that sucked. I had little hope of surviving for seven days in this wilderness with what I had, and so I would most likely never see the reward. At least I saved the little guy. I didn’t save him for the reward anyway. I became a soldier because I believed in justice, I believed in freedom from tyranny, I believed in saving innocence and preserving peace at almost any cost. In this case, it had been a helpless animal I had saved, whereas back in the world it had been to save the ones I loved from terrorism and those who would do them harm.

Admittedly as an orphan, I didn’t have that iconic family to save, but in some strange way, I had embraced a country as my family. Several countries in fact. Perhaps I had adopted more of an ideal. Each country I served took me in when I was alone and isolated. They provided for me, giving me a purpose. I was a firm believer in giving back and balancing the scales.

My inner conflict at my current situation though was not something I could reconcile with yet. The hardest part was believing in this new cause. Well in the Absinths cause. It wasn’t my cause yet. Were they really training me for the good of humankind? It was obvious what I was gaining from the deal. My youth being the strongest statement on the baited hook. A supple and strong young body in exchange for what? Add to that the miraculous ability to do this magic stuff and I had to admit that the baited hook was a bloody carcass, and I was the hapless great white shark taking the bite. Open toothy mouth already tearing into the flesh, eyes rolled back and far too committed to doing anything about it as the hook set in.

The calf bleated and nuzzled my hand in frustration. It was hungry too. It was tugging and struggling against the barrier I had placed around. Trying to be free. I didn’t see a way for a positive outcome for the little guy. Simulation or not, everything felt so real, and if the mechanics of this world were real, then my newly saved calf would be dead in a couple of hours, and so I had to believe it was real and take it seriously. From what I had gathered from the people I had met, the skills I picked up in these Sims would be needed. One of those skills would most likely not be animal husbandry. Still, I had saved this defenseless creature. Awkward and ungainly, it struggled to survive with a will as strong as any life. It wanted to prevail. I wanted it to prevail.

“You are the first to have succeeded in that quest.” The voice came from above me. It shocked me to the core and I almost fell from the tree. I couldn’t stand with the baby elk in my lap so, feigning bravado, I turned my gaze up,

“Who said that? Where are you?” All that I got in response though was a very loud silence. I looked more carefully and noticed a movement in the foliage where an owl perched a few feet above me. It blinked at me then winked with one eye very deliberately.

Then in a clear a voice it said, “I am Horatio, pleased to meet you.” Even seeing and hearing this directly left me no better equipped to deal with it.

I blurted out stupidly, “You can talk?” The owl turned its head away from me and the subsequent bobbing head left me with the impression it was chuckling.

Turning back it stated “Obviously” The bland staring owl face showed no emotion, but the twinkling eyes said otherwise. It was enjoying my discomfort immensely. “To answer your question, I will require that you answer mine first.” it stated.

Now I was suspicious. One thing I hated was to answer questions, and especially to alien beings, or constructs, for that must be what this was. “Are you Grant?” I asked.

The owl tilted its head and said, “When you agree to my terms, I shall answer your questions. In this place nothing is free. One answer for another.”

Not having much choice I agreed. “Fair enough, although I would revise my question before we begin.“ This game of 20 questions might be what it wanted, but I didn’t want to start off with something so banal as getting a yes or no reply.

“Deal!” it stated.

I tried to rephrase my question, “So as a simulation construct, your job is to observe and record what I do, my question is: Why are you interacting with me?”

“You will remember that you are to answer my question first?”

Now I had him, “Yes,” I replied, “and now you answer mine.”

Its eyes actually bulged when it realized I had tricked it, and this time the head bobbed in an annoyed fashion. It really was a large owl. One of those snowy owl types that bird enthusiasts were always looking out for.

“I can see you are experienced at this, so let’s get to the seeds of the fruit” Its head bobbed again, this time the bird was definitely laughing, its use of an idiom, not quite the one I was used to, but still clear enough to understand. “I am interacting with you to discover your motivations, but also to offer you insight that can lead to a more successful campaign.”

“I see.” A snarling conflict had started between two wolves tugging upon the same juicy morsel and both the bird and I were distracted for a moment. It was easy to think that my situation was not life threatening, but nothing could be further from the truth. The wolves posed a very real danger, as did the cold. I also had all the additional worries, such as the calf, food, shelter, and most importantly how I was going to get to the extraction point.

“My question is why did you rescue the calf?” Asked the owl named Horatio.

Taking a deep sigh, I tried to answer the owl as best as I could. I was getting tired of the banter and I wanted to get on with things. “Horatio, I can’t rightly say at the moment. Everything is overwhelming, you know? What I felt when I saw the calf struggling amongst its mother’s intestines, struggling to be born with no chance of survival. I connected with it. I felt like I was in that position, or rather that I had been. My Momma died giving birth to me, and my father took off right after that.”

“At the orphanage, they took me in because they had to. I learned to rely on myself, but it was no way for a kid to grow up. With no one really there to take care of me specifically. The system has no love, no empathy; It only has rules and regulations. If I stubbed my toe or felt sad, there wasn’t anyone to comfort me. I had to get up and face the fact that life wasn’t… isn’t fair. Every step along the way, every choice I made was to find out what I was made of.” I paused as my mind wrung out how to voice my deepest motivations. “I wanted to find out if I had it in me to succeed in the most challenging environment. To prove to myself I was worth something. And I did. I survived and thrived. But there were many along the way who didn’t have it in them. Who needed a helping hand. I have learned over the years that no man is an island. That sometimes, in fact, most times, you need to rely on your friends. Even if it’s just for a bit of validation. So when I saw this little guy in a hopeless situation, I thought, he needs a friend, so I put it on the line and made an effort. It was crazy I know. None of this is real, but it sure feels real and I bet it feels real for this little guy.”

I glanced down stroking the calf; it settled down from its struggling and had given up on my fingers. I looked up at Horatio. A lot of what I had said to the owl was heartfelt deep sentiment. Why I had opened up, I had no idea. Anthropomorphizing the bird had been a good idea. With my innate connection to wildlife, this was an extremely devious tactic to get into my psyche. I would have to be more careful. I didn’t like people getting into my head.

“Satisfied?” I enquired and then realized my mistake. Fortunately, the bird wasn’t paying attention or must have achieved its goal, because it bobbed its head again, then gagging it produced a pellet from its mouth that fell to the ground a few meters below, right amongst the wolves. It wasn’t an ordinary bird pellet that owls regurgitate; This one was golden and shiny. A few of the wolves were still gnawing at bones, but with full bellies, they were not that interested in me or the golden pellet.

“I take it that is for me?” I enquired.

“Yes,” replied Horatio, and this time he didn’t let me off the hook. His smug bird-brained expression made me smile in appreciation. As far as distractions go, regurgitation has to be right up there.

“Okay, so what’s your next question?”

“What is your class?”

“That’s an easy one. I thought you would know already being part of the whole system. I’m a Prodigy Class.”

“I am a living entity Petros, not a program. I am in fact a different species from you as well as the Absinth, at this time my species and the Absinth are allies.”

“At this time?” I interrupted. “You mean you might consider going against the Absinth?”

“Let me put it this way. We will always be allies with the Absinth because we have no other choice. If things change, we may take another view. Isn’t this the way of all living sapients?”

I shrugged. “Honestly, I have very little to go by, so I cannot make any judgments right now. It is my experience that people always look out for their own best interests, not really for others. Altruism is a myth.”

“What about you Petros? Didn’t you just save a calf at great personal risk and with little benefit?”

He had me there, I thought a bit and then replied, “In retrospect, I did it more to assuage my guilt at witnessing such a barbaric act rather than for the calf’s benefit. If I had really thought it through, I would have left the little guy to his fate. It would be a faster death than what he will experience with me now. At best he will be my dinner later when he succumbs to the cold and starvation.”

“Ah, and there we have it, altruism at its finest. An act benefiting both of you.”

I was tired of this game. “So why are you here? I see we have stopped the 20 questions game, just be straight up with me. Direct approach. What is your purpose? What do you hope to achieve?”

“Part of my purpose is to convey that you are learning to fight not just for the Absinth, not just for humanity, but also for other beings. The Absinth represent a consortium of sapients that are against brutal expansionist policies.”

“Ironic isn’t it? Training me to kill on your behalf and yet you spout anti-brutality rhetoric?”

“Alas a sad truth, and I believe you are aware of this conundrum being a soldier. The truth that to prevent bad policy, one needs to enforce laws and respond with repercussions to those less inclined to follow edicts of the law for the greater good.”

“Are you saying you are training me to be a cop? A police officer?”

“Not at all Petros. We are training you to survive and teach you the limits of your potential. We have challenges that will become your challenges in time, and how you solve them is a self-styled solution. You will either be violent or lenient based on your own preconceived ideals. We test you and train you to find out what those ideals may be and then deploy you into situations that might need your specific solution, be it justice or anarchy.”

“I see,” I replied, I didn’t quite get it, but wanted us to move on with the conversation. “And what race or species are you?”

“I am not unknown to your people. We are embedded in legends and folklore. Many great works from any library have cataloged and described us in great detail. I’m sure you have heard of the “Elves” before?”

“What? Elves? Are you kidding me? Elves are aliens?” I burst into disbelieving laughter. “Now that is one for the ages. Man, I love my life. I feel like the Hobbit, what was his name? Bilbo Baggins, that’s right. You have dragged me into something so much weirder than I ever could have imagined even in my wildest dreams.”

“It is true, Petros, I am an Elf. An Elder Elf, but before I continue, I will pause the Sim so we can converse without disrupting your chance at survival.”

Things around me got blurry and I felt the usual disruptive sensations as the scenery changed to a new world.