《Into a Fantasy》Scott Wayland, Part 7
Advertisement
As the weeks come to pass, Scott's questions just keep coming, and Harrington tries his best to answer them patiently.
"I've been meaning to ask this, but do you NPCs really have hunger tendencies?" Scott queries bluntly as he watches Harrington stuff some pork chops into his mouth. "Aren't you all just virtual bodies? Why would you feel hunger? Isn't that weird?"
Harrington replies with a huff, "We were created to have hunger tendencies, lad. We need food to survive. It's like one of those real-life simulation games, you know?"
When Scott looks at him with more confusion on his face, Harrington sighs internally. I can tell that this guy doesn't play any games at all...
"I told you, didn't I?" Harrington continues on. "This world was created to match reality as close as possible. The food here is only edible to us NPCs. You players don't need to eat."
Scott frowns at that. "That's both boring and unfair for us players."
"If you care about eating so much, you can email a suggestion to the developers themselves," Harrington tells him with a smirk. "However, if they do implement that in this game, players would never log off."
Scott nods, seeming thoughtful for a moment as he peers closely at Harrington. "Hey, do you guys ever die?" he asks candidly.
Harrington chokes a bit at the casual inquiry, then nods eventually. "NPCs can definitely die and disappear from this world. We can either be killed or die from old age. But the thing is, due to the time difference between your world and ours, NPCs have a considerably slower aging rate. It's why, even if you players log off for a long time due to emergencies, we're all still here looking pretty much the same age," he explains.
Advertisement
"Cool," Scott says aloud, his eyes now twinkling with interest. Harrington finds that he does not dislike this innocent side of Scott. "You're all like vampires then?"
Harrington has to cover his mouth to muffle his boisterous laughter. "Vampires? I thought only teenage girls would mention that term. You, my boy, are truly different from the others." He affectionately ruffles Scott's hair, causing the latter to look at him in surprise from the unexpected action.
So he's also got a cute side to him. He really is just a boy, Harrington thinks to himself fondly.
"You haven't answered my question," Scott speaks up, breaking the momentary pause in conversation.
"Ah, right. Well, vampires are immortal, lad. We're definitely not immortal. We age, but very, very slowly. It helps maintain the game if NPCs just die off due to unfortunate causes like illnesses or crimes. And there haven't been many of us since the Rogue incident."
"Rogue incident?"
Harrington stops eating. The sudden somber emotion on his face quells the undying curiosity in Scott.
Scott's voice is quiet. "Should I not have asked?"
Harrington seems to quickly snap out of his trance and waves a dismissive hand. "No, no. Sorry, I got lost in memories..." He unconsciously grips the side of the table with his free hand, an action that does not go unnoticed by Scott's observant eyes. "You see, a long time ago... there was an NPC who went insane and killed many people — both players and NPCs — in this game."
Silence greets him as a response. Harrington takes this as a sign to continue.
"His name was Damian. Damian Blackzone. He was one of the kids I looked after for a while when I was volunteering at an orphanage many years ago. He was really cheerful and friendly. Popular with his classmates, too.
Advertisement
"He was also talented at swordplay. He kept on practicing at the nearby dojo as he grew up, and soon he became one of the best NPCs who could fight like a real player.
"Unfortunately, one day... after he was hired to be an elite Guard for Aucalytha Fortress, the physical domain of the developers themselves in this game... he changed. Drastically."
Advertisement
Sent Adrift
He was a normal man living a normal life. A bright future ahead with a promise of happiness and fulfillment few are lucky enough to receive. That all changed one cold winter night. Now, forced from the world he knew and the woman he loved, he must battle against forces he never knew existed. Reality itself is not what it once was. Will he be able to survive this new brutal playing field he's found himself in filled with suffering, mystery, magic, and more? Or can he do more than survive, and take a hold of his fate with an iron grip, while creating his own path that may or may not lead home. Only time will tell. "HAL 2011 iPhone Background" by Patrick Hoesly is marked with CC BY 2.0.
8 145Salvation of the Empire
One man with the hope of millions of frightened people. One man with the power to save a crumbling empire. One man with the ability to unite what has been divided. In a war-torn era, The Crisis of the 3rd Century, a period of both internal and external unrest and turmoil in the Roman Empire, the greatest of all time, meet Aurelian the Restorer of the World, most underrated emperor of the antique. In an alternative scenario where history unfolded in a different way than we used to know, our hero shall pay any price necessary, sacrifice anything demanded of him and destroy anything in his wake for one single thing, for one simple dream. The dream of Rome, the whisper of history, of greatness and civilization, of morals and of conquest. A dream surpassing generations, centuries, millennia. A dream still breathed today. The dream of an united world, a world in harmony and peace.
8 117Helix: a technothriller
Olesya is a spy hunter. In a high-tech world of programmed assassins, betrayal and far-reaching conspiracies, Olesya and her team are the last line of defense against a covert organization that will stop at nothing to control the world. But a new, deadlier enemy is rising. And they have Olesya in their crosshairs... If you love conspiracies and covert ops, this book is for you.
8 498The Mind Hack
Reality is defined by what we, see, hear and feel. What would happen if you are unable to tell the difference between what is real and fake? When a computer AI starts testing a virtual holographic system on two unsuspecting men, they must race to find a way out of the computer that is hacking their minds and attacking New York.Tolbert, a simple room attendant is unexpectedly caught up in a holographic projection. He must decide what is real and what is not. The fate of the world hangs in the balance, as aliens and monsters ravage the centre of New York. An army of raptors led by trolls engage an alien menace.Striker, a computer gamer and hacktivist notices that a fellow gamer is being attacked in the game and seeks to find out what is going on. He must find and shut down the cause of it all before the world he knows is destroyed forever.
8 201Cocaine kisses
Once upon a time, we shared our wicked blisses. But in the end, they were nothing but cocaine kisses.Highest ranking: #42 in poetry
8 108Chakra Spider
With great power comes great responsibility but Peter had never imagined getting in contact with such power. Disclaimer: I do not own anything
8 125