Chapter 3 – DAY ONE

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Unfortunately for Delight, my efforts to bring her into my Faction utterly failed, nor could I activate her as a player character. Being unable to activate her as a player, all any of us could see was a dead gray box above her head with just the barest information about who she could be. Her potential. She couldn’t even see that. Nor would she be able to see any game mechanic stuff, even her own character sheet until, and unless, I could make it happen for her.

We were able, through deductive reasoning, to determine she had a Will Attribute below twenty.

My attempt to bring her on board resulted in the discovery that it took a form of commitment from one person to a Mystic Player to join that Faction. There appeared to be only two avenues, firstly, have a Will Attribute of 20 or above and simply choose to commit irrevocably to a faction. The second avenue was less clear in that there was simply an indication a potential faction member with an insufficient Will Attribute could ‘Demonstrate Through Action’ the necessary commitment. Not a lot of information, so we were all sort of stumped as to what that might mean. Of course, while discussing the potentials, the military guys promptly came up with the acronyms ‘DTA’ and ‘PAP.’

After my first few tries had failed, Saint Mattis got that ‘look’ on his face then explained what he knew at the time. It actually looked to me like he was reading off of a teleprompter.

“Faction members are ‘eternally linked’ to the Mystic Player they commit to.”

He glanced up and focused on us. “I don’t yet understand some of this, so I’ll gloss over it. Hopefully, we’ll get some actionable intel later.”

Mattis’ eyes went back to that unfocused teleprompter reading thing as he continued, “Note, a Faction can only be formed by a Mystic Player when at least one person makes a commitment to him or her. A Mystic Player must, through an exercise of his or her will, assign a willing player to his or her faction. The Faction is representative of the deep commitment one person has for a Mystic Player, or to an ideology that a player character believes and supports that the Mystic Player may epitomize. Factionalization of a player character to a Mystic Player may occur through that player’s voluntary exercise of decision, if he or she is has a sufficiently high Will Attribute, or, if a Will Attribute is below minimum, a player may demonstrate through action the necessary level of commitment to join a Faction. A Factioned player may not remove themselves from the Faction. Removal of a player character from a Faction may only be done at the discretion of the Mystic Player. Defactionalization of a player character reverts them to participating attendee player status, and they are no longer eligible to develop as a player character while in-game until, or unless, they become a Faction member of a different Mystic Player. Once a player character defactionalizes from a Mystic Player, the door to the prior Faction is forever closed to them. Defacitionalization may be done at the request of a player character due to changes experienced or due to the…”

Saint Mattis paused for a moment, then said, “Okay, there seems to be pages and pages of stuff just on the Faction thing. I can see about looking into this a lot deeper, but I think we have enough of a handle to begin some short-range planning. It seems clear that Factions are key to quite a few aspects and in-game processes. Other than a quick mention about demonstration though action, there really aren’t any details I could see that explain more about DTA.”

DeSantos asked, “Does it explain anything more about PAPs?”

Bonita looked at him with a questioning expression and asked, “What’s paps, Hon?”

He got an embarrassed expression so, I chuckled and answered for Luis, “It’s an acronym. P.A.P. is a short way express quote participating attendee player unquote. I don’t know what it is about military folks and acronyms, but nobody does it more or better. Good one DeSantos. PAP it is.”

After we all spent quite a bit time fruitlessly guessing and grumbling about what might constitute a DTA or the details regarding the playability of a PAP, we got on with the program.

I did some hand holding and back rubbing to Delight and offered her low-voiced promises to find out the answers. I assured her I would fix things as soon as possible so she could join the Faction and get activated.

As much assurance and consolation as my ignorant ass could.

Eventually, she wiped her eyes and smiled up at me as we sat on the floor then leaned against the wall, my arm draped across her shoulders.

It was time to figure some shit out. That took more hours.

We were all gathered in the little temple-like building in the clearing, having exhausted almost every line of conjecture and possible discussion point of value. Thankfully, General Mattis, or Saint Mattis as was the case in this mind-bending milieu, was experienced at running meetings and keeping people focused and on track.

He was also about the most genius person I’d ever met or even heard of. Well, except maybe Einstein, or Newton. That Galileo guy as well. Plus Pythagoras. Okay, well, definitely in the top ten of smartest dudes, ever. That I’d heard of.

Anyway, it turns out, only Bonita hadn’t had her race locked. Don’t know why. Maybe because she was Cajun or something. Everybody was pretty much race locked, class locked, level set, and all that shit. Not only that, everyone was bigger, better, or more whatever than they were in real life.

I went from standing six foot even with an average schlong, being totally honest here, to six foot five and hung like a mule. More muscular, perfect vision. Got better everything. Bonita and Delight went from nicely racked and well formed to drool-inducing smoking hot. Hell, even their voices sounded sexier. I kept having to do quadratic equations in my head to keep from embarrassing myself with the ol’ elephant trunk wanting to come out from under my skirt looking for a circus act to get in on every time they spoke or I glanced their way.

DeSantos got taller, I think. Maybe. Didn’t really notice or care.

It was Saint Mattis who figured it out, within the limits of what was, at that time, figurable. If ‘figurable’ is a real word. He, Bonita, and Corporal DeSantos were talking about all kinds of stuff, although mainly it was the saint asking questions and Bonita and DeSantos answering.

There were, unfortunately, a lot of ‘I don’t know’ answers. Those answers were mainly to questions Mattis asked them that dealt with philosophy, religion, math, physics. Really, anything that didn’t deal with games, game mechanics, game playing techniques, tactics, strategies, equipment, or gaming theory came to an ‘I don’t know.’ But apparently the saint got enough info to develop an initial operating theory. Which he shared.

I’m guessing this counted as a tutorial in this strange game-like existence we find ourselves in. Whatever.

Saint Mattis stood at the altar in the large shrine, turned around and leaned back against it and spoke.

“Here is my current assessment of the battlespace. Something happened to send you into some sort of meta-game environment. When this transition occurred, your true selves, either how you see yourselves or who you truly are from the spiritual perspective, seems to have manifested through reshaping your bodies to accurately reflect that. Most probably there are additional factors currently unknown that are also contributory. That’s my best guess, based on what we see here and from what Delight told me about her sister being one absolutely evil, dark-hearted, scheming, conniving bitch. That a solid description of Destiny, your twin sister?”

“If you skip all the details I talked about, yes.”

She turned and addressed the rest of us.

“Destiny actually told me she had made a deal with some Chechnyans to kidnap me into slavery while we were in Europe. I think she was telling the truth, so, I’m glad she’s dead.”

I had to ask. “What? Why would she do that?”

“Lot’s of reasons. She was always stealing my boyfriends and trying to ruin my relationships with friends. That’s why she was with you and me. She knew I like you and was trying to ruin it with the whole bi-sister thing. I know guys like that sort of thing, so I wasn’t going to back down from what I want. Anything she could do to hurt me, I could do even better.”

I’m not going to argue that made sense to me. But, as a guy, sometimes you just have to nod and go with the flow. So, I took a serious expression, sort of a frown I learned watching a dipshit junior instructor suck up to his senior instructor at OCS, and nodded as she continued to talk.

Naturally, the comment about her 'bi-sister' caused me to remember with incredible detail our earlier time together. My mind wandered as her rambling served as a background noise. In my mind's eye I saw as she stood at the foot of the bed and tugged her tan slacks down. She gently stepped, left foot, then the right, out of the pooled clothes and I saw satiny sheen of her hunter green panties flash between the gap between the tails of her button down shirt. I heard the soft murmur of her voice and the susurrus of flesh on wood as her feet slid across the floor as she slowly approached, fingers unbuttoning her shirt. Her left hand drifted down to caress her mound as the right continued to unfasten -

DeSantos let out a loud and unnatural sounding cough.

A quick glance, very subtle on my part, was rewarded with a brief frown and nod toward my armored skirt, now tented quite obviously. An adriot shift of my arms across my lap, as uncrafty as one might expect, found me soon enough having managed the protrusion and paying attention once again. I brought my focus once again to the here and now as Delight finished her explanation.

“We were supposed to be coming to Europe to work things out and try to be more familial. That was what my mom said. Destiny said because I had always been Daddy’s favorite, she wanted to make sure I was not around to interfere with her chance of inheriting everything. She meant it too. That’s why I’m glad you stabbed her in the face! Thank you, Rick.”

Still frowning seriously, I nodded to her and said, “I was glad to do it for you, Delight.”

I was pretty confused because I never had an inkling there had been any hard feelings between them.

Other than feeling me hard between them.

Ha. LOL! I crack myself up.

Shifting uncomfortably, I resolved to check into this story of familial discord more a bit later. I mean, not to be excessively descriptive, but there was quite a bit of saliva being spread around, and I didn’t see any hate going on. Admittedly, with what I was experiencing I probably wouldn’t have noticed anything short of a knife fight, but still, I don’t like to believe I can be so oblivious to what’s going on left of bang. Although, what is true is true regardless of my wishes and preferences. So, apparently, I can be that unaware under certain circumstances.

Heedless of my musing, Mattis nodded and continued, “I can agree with that sentiment, Delight. Thank you for that extensive discourse. Moving on.”

He paused with a cocked head and a look that asked silently if anyone had something else to add before he did, in fact, move on.

When none of us said anything else, he continued, “As I was saying, somehow I was drawn into this same environment. There is, currently, no mission statement or obvious objectives, and we appear trapped here until whatever power that caused this is satisfied. You all have been ‘guided’ by me within the limits of my understanding based on input received from you coupled with whatever esoteric knowledge source that provides me with the information I have shared. You have your basic arms and armor, spells, and skills. Lieutenant, assuming we understand the character sheets and meanings of the information, you are at well-above entry level as a fighter, level F6. We aren’t sure if that is because you fought competitively in HEMA for six years, or because you won six semi-pro bouts in Mixed Martial Arts, or that you have been in the Marine Corps for six years. In fact, we aren’t really sure why the level is what it is, and we don’t know with certainty what F actually means. Our assumption is the F means ‘Fighter,’ although that is simply a wild ass guess we have settled upon based on the others here and their level designators. The meaning of the ‘Infinity’ level 1 is unknown with no current basis for assessment.”

Saint Mattis paused to allow for a response or comment. None came, so he continued to lay out and articulate my group’s perception and understanding of what the situation was currently.

“Corporal DeSantos, your level of 4 also brings you into this environment at a higher level than a normal noob. Thanks for explaining that word to me. Very useful in this paradigm. Like being a recruit in the military. Maybe a boot. Regardless, as with Lieutenant Westlichen, sorry, West, your entry level could mean or be based on any number of things. That you are a corporal E4 paygrade, you are in your fourth year as a soldier, or that you won four international gaming competitions. Don’t know, can’t figure it. Fog of war. Advancing. Bonita and Delight, you are both leveled above a bare noob at level 2. We’ve all guessed that because Bonita usually plays healers in online gaming, and is also a real-world medical student, that is why your class is selected and locked. The level may be because you are in your second year of medical school, or because you have been a professional gamer for two years. Delight, sort of the same for you. As to what a Psion is and how that relates to electrical engineering, we don’t know, and won’t know until Weslichen turns you on, but we believe that it is somehow related is our best guess. With your level possibly associated with you being in the second year of your undergraduate degree, or because you hold the second highest GPA in your college standing, or because you came in second place, twice, and your state’s science fair. There are a lot of crossovers and potential interconnected relevancies in each of your lives that may, or may not, have been the drivers for your levels. Your world maps have been activated. Lieutenant Westlichen, sorry, West, has established his Faction and started a party. Unfortunately, with Delight not being Factionalized and activated as a player character, she cannot join the party either. Does that pretty much sum up your understanding as well, Lieutenant Westlichen, sorry, West?”

“Yes, sir. If this is a game, it’s certainly more realistic than anything I’ve ever heard of. Which, no matter how we got here, is okay by me until or unless we can all go back to the real world. Except I hope it’s not too stupid, as were the few games that I’ve played before. Shit, even the ones the Corps used had too much gamey game stuff for me.”

Bonita asked, “Whatcha mean, Rick? I like the games. That’s why I’m a pro-gamer.”

I admit it. I frowned a touch and said, “Mainly because I really hate some of the shit that makes, or allows, I should say, gamers to behave way differently than they would outside of a game. In real life. It’s one of the reasons I don’t play. I think it creates unrealistic patterns of thought and reaction. War and killing are supposed to be ugly and painful. Not just running around at a sprint, getting killed and sprinting right back into a battle over and over again. I never felt it was a good game if you could get killed without some limit or serious penalty. I always wished games would have something like a one hundred percent pain setting and a limit on respawn. Of course, without the technology that would be impossible.”

As I had been talking, I heard quiet gonging sounds.

Saint Mattis asked, “As I said, I am not a gamer, so what is respawn?”

DeSantos answered, “In online games, sir, because it’s so easy to get killed working the missions, and the game companies want you to keep playing, grabbing loot and building levels and shit that makes you want to keep on playing, when you die in the game, you come back alive at a particular location called a respawn point.”

As even a high school cheerleader learns about football without ever playing, so too had I picked up enough to feel comfortable running my pie hole about a topic with which I limited personal exposure. As I noted previously, I was still quite young and I know of none at that age who are careless for appearance. I certainly did not wish to continuosly parade my gross ignorance of the topic around, so, having heard for years others discuss the games they played daily, I pitched right in.

With the same nonexistent level of personal experience with respawn as I had with asbestos mining, I took up the thread from DeSantos and continued, “Yes, sir. Everybody has a respawn point. Like, in a game, maybe this temple or the glade would be our initial respawn point. But we could move it as we got farther away. That way, if we got killed doing a dungeon dive hundreds of miles from here, we wouldn’t have to spend days getting back to our group, who had probably been killed while we were wandering the wilderness to get back to them. Being able to change your respawn point is one of the things I did like, except I feel being able to do so just once a day would be more realistic. As judging a degree of realism within the limits of game mechanics.”

Mattis spoke again, “Son, this is good information that I hope we can use to improve our tactical game training throughout the entire military once we can get back to the real world. We have used various platforms as tactical skills developer and enhancers for many years. I’m interested in hearing what other insights you might have for improvement. Maybe I can get you TDY to DARPA after we return.”

I thought for a few seconds, completely ignoring the semi-frequent mild gonging sounds emanating throughout the temple area. My opinion informed by overheard peripheral discussions and the inherent biases one accrues thusly, I continued.

“Well, sir, one of the tactical advantages we’ve leveraged in the past deals with the need for food, water, and sleep. Most games that I’ve seen played ignore that, although I’ve heard that some that give you debuffs after a certain amount of time unless you eat, hydrate, and rest. That’s better, in my mind, because it’s more a reflection of reality. As you know, and I know you really know way better than I do, sir, a good strategist and tactician can use almost any and every human weakness to gain an advantage. Typical games lack those exploitable opportunities, sticking mainly to just running stupidly into a fight and slamming away at an opponent until the hit points run out. And that’s another damned thing. I’ve seen grown men get killed by a kid with an AK with the right hit. In games, you can thrash on somebody for hours before they drop. That’s bullshit. I’d like to see a better critical hit effect where just about anybody with the right skillset, a tactical advantage, or what would be a real-life critical hit can take an enemy out regardless of level. Like, you know how hard it is as experienced fighters to watch that ridiculous shit in the movies where people get hit in the head with bats and crowbars and get up swinging. The reality is most people get a good pop to the head and drop like a sack of shit.”

The gong sounded again, and I saw Bonita’s eyes go wide before she slapped DeSantos on the shoulder and whispered in his ear.

DeSantos made a couple of quick gestures, and his face got white. He looked at me like he’d seen a ghost.

“Lieutenant, you need to shut the fuck up right now. Oh my God. What have you done?”

Even though he was Army, and they were a lot less strict than we were in the Corps, at this severe breach of military discipline, both General Mattis and I leaped fully to our feet. We both glared as we fast stepped to where DeSantos and Bonita sat cross-legged on the floor, eyes unfocused and hands moving and swiping through the air.

Mattis was the first to speak, “You better lock your fucking body, Soldier. Get on your feet and stand at attention.”

DeSantos looked shocked as he popped to attention. “Sir, please listen. A bunch of universal messages just came in, sir. That was what the gong sounds were. Holy shit, sir. Just please, you both need to read them.”

I focused on the screen just visible in the upper right-hand corner of my vision. It expanded into full view, and I quickly noticed a blinking highlight around the message icon. I poked it and began to read with growing horror.

UNIVERSAL MESSAGE: MMUvW PATCH #1 – Gore setting permanently locked at 100%.

>>>>>>>>>>>>END<<<<<<<<<<<<<

UNIVERSAL MESSAGE: MMUvW PATCH #2 – Pain setting permanently locked at 100%.

>>>>>>>>>>>>END<<<<<<<<<<<<<

UNIVERSAL MESSAGE: MMUvW PATCH #3 – Respawn setting permanently limited dependent on Race/Class/Level algorithm.

>>>>>>>>>>>>END<<<<<<<<<<<<<

UNIVERSAL MESSAGE: MMUvW PATCH #4 – Initial respawn location established at player’s current location.

>>>>>>>>>>>>END<<<<<<<<<<<<<

UNIVERSAL MESSAGE: MMUvW PATCH #5 – Respawn location change permanently limited to one reset per day.

>>>>>>>>>>>>END<<<<<<<<<<<<<

UNIVERSAL MESSAGE: MMUvW PATCH #6 – Activity/Race/Class/Level/Time/Spell - Debuff algorithm established for food, water, and rest.

>>>>>>>>>>>>END<<<<<<<<<<<<<

UNIVERSAL MESSAGE: MMUvW PATCH #7 – Activity/Race/Class/Level/Strike/Spell/Weapon -Increased damage and critical hit algorithm established.

>>>>>>>>>>>>END<<<<<<<<<<<<<