Dr. Thompson placed a micro-transmitter onto the back of Sean’s ear and explained the boot-sequence process once more to the Misfits. It had taken them about a week to wrap up their lives and move out to the middle of nowhere. Technically, it was the Australian outback – somewhere near the Darling River west of the Nandewar Mountains. Mr. Tiel must have done his homework on the Misfits, because even Sean realized that pretty much everyone had few ties to cut and certainly no job they had to be at. They were all pretty hardcore gamers so it didn’t surprise Sean too much; however, the thought that they had all leapt at the chance to work for some eccentric billionaire on his new pet gaming project without a second thought was a bit scary.

Mr. Tiel’s staff in the Australian Outback was led by the psychologist, Dr. Laura Thompson. She oversaw several other technicians and AI cyborgs that operated and maintained the billionaire’s outback bunker. The place was a prepper’s dream come true combined with all the eccentricities of a Bond villain’s lair. According to Dr. Thompson, the bunker’s purpose was to provide a secret laboratory to test their new reality-controlling VRMMO AI, dubbed Aeon, as well as to provide resources should Mr. Tiel ever need to escape from a world-ending disaster.

The way she stated that so matter-of-factly was a definitely a bit scary. Certainly, Sean was peripherally aware that about fifteen years ago there had been several major uprisings as jobs had been lost world-wide and no universal welfare system had been setup yet. However, things had calmed down since universal basic income or UBI had kept the unemployed masses from destroying everything. Since then the world had been relatively peaceful. Of course, there were still a few unstable nuclear states but they were controlled by economic sanctions and it was unlikely that they could start a world war. The only entities that had that kind of power were the five corporations that ran the world – one of which was run by Mr. Tiel.

Besides being an Armageddon ready bug out bunker, it was equipped with the latest VR technology which was what the Misfits were interested in. Currently, they were in the bunker’s command center which contained a wall of monitors used to view the outside world as well as the viewpoints of each of the Misfits who were lying down on sarcophagus like beds covered by clear glass. Unlike the VR environments at home where there was no ability to stimulate the body’s muscles, this new pod like system kept the body firmly encapsulated while Aeon would occasionally send electric pulses through the brain’s neuropathways to maintain musculature of the occupant. Sean was amazed at how convenient that was since it would allow for a truly immersive environment where he didn’t have to feel guilty for staying logged in for prolonged periods of time. Miles had immediately asked the doctor whether Aeon could be programmed to focus on a certain group of muscles. Sean knew that he was already angling to figure out any way he could to stay competitive as a runner and a gamer. Some things never changed, Sean thought.

Sean was distracted from his mental wanderings as the boot-sequence was initiated. Unlike their old VR masks that were clunky throwbacks to earlier in the 21st century, this new VR environment was completely seamless. The micro-transmitter on the back of his right ear forced a full hologram projection directly into his mind and completely overrode any external senses. As Mr. Tiel had alluded to a week ago, it was a completely different experience than anything currently out on the market in terms of an immersive experience. This was only the second time that Sean had been able to dive with this new technology and he waited impatiently for Aeon to start-up.

***AR Online – Aeon 1.387.10***

Immediately, Sean became Smash and was transported from the underground control room, which was silent except for the hum of electronics and the breathing of his fellow gamers into a completely black space that indicated that he’d entered the configuration sequence. Here you would eventually be able to select what type of race and character type you wanted to play. However, for expediency of testing this in prototype form, everyone had agreed that they were ok transporting their old character races and classes over from Champions. For the most part everyone loved playing their main and it made the transition part a lot easier. Additionally, Dr. Thompson said that they intended to test several high-level sequences right away in the VR game that had been dubbed Armageddon Online. Once he’d learned of the company’s intent to dump them right into end-game content Smash had readily agreed that they would be best off playing the characters they knew so well instead of having to learn an entirely new race and class. Currently, their characters were all level 60, the same as they had been in Champions.

His field of vision changed again and the first thing he noticed was the human odor of being inside a contained hazardous materials suit. Armageddon Online was a VRMMO that was focused on the concept of world-ending events. Apparently, Mr. Tiel didn’t just build bug-out bunkers in the middle of the Australian outback on a whim – he had an obsession with the end times. From his goggles Smash could see a desolate environment, completely void of vegetation or life. Cratered buildings and the remnants of an old highway were the only significant landmarks in an otherwise featureless environment. The sky was hazy purple, grey, and black from the fires that still burned the world.

A moment later he saw Cheezus standing next to him. Their other guildies were currently testing another scenario so it was just the two of them. The red jagged dagger, Cermillion’s Tooth that he’d won when the guild had defeated the end boss lay ready in his friend’s hand. Smash had known the other characters in the Misfits and seen their avatars daily in Champions; however, the realistic detail of AO was on a different level. Not only could Smash make out the layers of grime on Cheezus’ hazards suit, but also he could see the wear of his friends soles on the ground by examining the dusty footprints he made after each step. Just like him, they both played human characters; however, while his own character was fair haired, Cheezus had dark hair and beady eyes. He definitely looked like a stereotypical thief except for the bright orange suit he was currently wearing. The gas mask he wore covered up his friend’s pencil mustache and Smash imagined he still had a wry grin plastered to his face as he usually did. Nonetheless, when Cheezus saw his friend looking at him he winked, a roguish twinkle in his eye that usually meant they were about to get into trouble.

They moved forward towards one of the abandoned buildings in the distance. It was difficult to make out where this had once been but if Smash was forced to guess it seemed like somewhere in the rural desert. Maybe it had been a part of the Australian outback but it could have just as easily been somewhere in Texas. They’d learned one of the more interesting game design choices about AO yesterday. Instead of a typical post-apocalyptic scenario where guns and some advanced technology still functioned, this end of world environment included the destruction of all technology. However, the magical abilities they’d had in Champions still functioned and it looked like many enemies also had access to magic.

Cheezus was completely silent as he approached, unlike Smash who clanked as he walked. Unfortunately, it was very difficult to get a drop on your enemies when you were wearing a bright orange jump suit. To offset this massive negative to Cheezus’ stealth, he had taken a dirt bath at the first available opportunity. He whispered to Smash that there were six level 59 mutants. Mutants might have been human once, but the fallout from this world had killed most of humanity. Those that remained were freakishly strong and fast and it took a lot of killing for them to die. It was a good thing that the two of them made a strong team.

Smash whispered back, “See if you can get the attention of a couple of them and I’ll peel the rest of the pack from you and hold them while you burn them down.” Back when he and Miles and Kevin didn’t have crowd control players or healers this was a common strategy they would use in dungeons with large patrols. The Misfits had used this unconventional approach many times. Miles would have to be quick to get in a good amount of damage on one or two mobs and then Smash would AOE taunt the rest of the group. It was a balancing act because if Smash pulled too hard he would get all of the enemies on him and with six that was a lot of damage. On the other hand, Cheezus could only take damage from one or two of these creatures for a short period of time. He wasn’t a tank and he would have to burst DPS his mobs down or use slows and kiting tactics to make sure he wasn’t overwhelmed.

Without further delay, Cheezus moved into position and was able to pick off one of the mutants that had moved outside toward the back of the building. Sneaking right up behind the hapless creature, he slit its neck.

-500 stabbing

Instakill

-120 overkill

Stabbing someone unexpectedly in the back did a super unfair amount of damage. Smash tensed, ready to use his taunt if things went wrong but unsurprisingly, his friend was a master at this. Next, Cheezus used his new dagger as a thrown weapon and buried it deeply into the back of one of the other mutants.

-357 piercing

Bleeding wound

This time he wasn’t as lucky and the creature screamed out in pain. The other mutants were pretty quickly swarming around the area scanning for enemies. They still hadn’t seen either Cheezus or Smash approach. Cheezus pulled out another dagger and Smash saw him ready a charge. His friend had provided enough distraction and had sufficiently weakened the enemy. Smash pulled out his magical broad sword, banged it once against his shield and with a yell charged the enemy. He and Cheezus reached their enemies at approximately the same time. Cheezus drove his other dagger and Cermillion’s Tooth into the back of the wounded mutant, killing him instantly. Smash rushed in and blasted the group of mutants with a fierce roar that drew all the remaining enemies to him. Soon he was surrounded by the remaining four mutants as they attempted to pierce his defenses.

-47 claw

-28 claw

Debilitating cut

-19 claw

-54 claw

-33 claw

Even without raid buffs Smash had almost 3500 hit points. It would be a long time before the mutants would be able to take him down. Fortunately, Cheezus had killed their one magic user. Without magic to aid them, Smash’s defenses were nearly impenetrable to the group and he and Cheezus quickly finished them off.

So far, Smash and the rest of the Misfits had been pretty impressed with the game play. Even just taking the small amount of damage that he had, Smash could feel getting beaten up and it was not a pleasant feeling. Additionally, the mobs were pretty challenging for mere open area trash mobs. He couldn’t wait to get a chance to tackle an actual dungeon or raid and go up against harder creatures.