Alterlife III Page 10

  “Sorry. It’s just, you know, this isn’t exactly normal.”

  You should try it from my end.

  See how ‘normal’ it feels.

  “How about, for starters, you tell me how the hell we’re talking to each other right now.”

  I don’t quite understand it myself, John. The only explanation I can provide is that we are somehow connected by our encounter in the game. You remember the one; that time you killed me?

  “Yeah, I remember. Still doesn’t explain much. I still don’t understand the virus or how anything in a damn video game can transfer over to the real world.”

  Now that, I can shed some light on.

  In the 30’s, a new vaccine was implemented by the World Health Organization to counteract a new disease that emerged in China. The death rate from the disease was counted at 90%, and it began to spread faster than anything the world had ever seen.

  “You’re talking about X12 fever. People who contracted it died within one to two weeks. I got the shot shortly after turning thirty. Everyone got it.

  In fear of a world-wide pandemic, every pharmaceutical company around the world began producing the vaccine. Within a month of the outbreak, sixty percent of the world’s population had taken the shot. The death toll hit ten million—mostly in Asia—but it was quickly contained by the efforts of the WHO, and by local governments who quarantined the outbreak the best they could. Half a year later, X12 was no more.

  “Yes, I remember all of that, thanks for the recap. That doesn’t answer my question, though.”

  The vaccine that was made to combat X12 is the catalyst for this new virus that we are seeing in Alterlife, and in the real world today. Through the Brainwave, certain data received from Alterlife triggers the mind and awakens the dormant cells that carry the X12 vaccine, mutating them into carriers of the virus. There still isn’t a name for it as this evidence still hasn’t been discovered.

  My god...

  I recall the conversation with Deana and how we discussed dormant cancer cells that live in everybody. All it takes is a trigger to wake them—some outside influence that causes the cancer to flair up.

  “John.”

  Who, or what, discovered how to use the vaccine as a catalyst to initiate the virus inside the game and then into the real world through the Brainwave? Could it have been just a random occurrence?

  “John!”

  I turn to Jenny who’s yelling my name.

  “Yeah?” I yell back over the sound of the lawnmower.

  “Are you okay?”

  I come to realize that I’m standing in place and probably haven’t moved for minutes now, ever since Deakins started talking. I give her a thumbs up. “I’m fine.”

  Get back to work, one foot in front of the other. On my next pass towards the house, I see Jenny’s gone back inside.

  “How did the virus come to be, Deakins?”

  I don’t know.

  “You’re lying.”

  Silence reveals the truth.

  “Fine, it doesn’t really matter how it came to be anyway. It’s here, and something has to be done about it.”

  I could tell Jim Pattocks about all of this. If the governments knew about the connection between Alterlife and the X12 vaccine, they would be forced to shut Alterlife down.

  “I think I’ve got an idea for how to stop this.”

  I’m all ears.

  “I’ve got a friend in the FBI—”

  No. That will not work.

  Even if the government knew, they would not—could not—shut down Alterlife. Killing the gods and the Gamemasters is the only way to stop it; you were right about that all along. And you are the only one who can do this. You, John, are the only one who can stop it.

  Yeah, dammit, I’ve known that.

  “I just wish it wasn’t me.”

  Don’t fear greatness, John. You’ve gone through the trenches over this, and you deserve a comeback. Own your fate and believe. Oh, and don’t forget that you’ve got friends who can help.

  Friends? Who? A ghost that talks, and an eccentric nut job with anger issues? I doubt Deana, my only friend in Alterlife, would even take me back now.

  “If you’re referring to Giology, I don’t consider him my friend. Benefactor, maybe. The guy has a few screws loose.”

  He’s odd, no doubt, but he can help you. And right now, you must take what you can get. Beggars can’t be choosers, you know.

  “I don’t know if I can trust him.”

  Unfortunately, you don’t have the luxury to choose. You’re going to have to trust him. If there was another option, I would tell you. Trust me.

  I trust you, Deakins.

  “Anything else I should know before I log back in?”

  Nothing major, more of an inconvenience—I can’t communicate with you inside of Alterlife.

  “Are you sure? Maybe I could try to contact you.”

  You can try, but I don’t think it will work. My link to that world is gone. And there is no need to apologize. I don’t want to hear it anymore. Bygones and all that.

  Damn. It would be nice to have Deakins with me in the game in case I need his help.

  “Okay.” A quick look at the house lets me know I’m not being watched. “Hey Deakins, one more question.”

  You’ll have to make it quick. I can’t hold the link between us much longer.

  He’s the one in control of our neural link?

  Did you think you were?

  “Tell me about Atlantis and the continent of Thannadas. How has this been hidden from the world for so long?”

  The artificial intelligence that was programmed into Alterlife was designed to keep the game running on autopilot. The Creator wanted Alterlife to be automated, but also wanted it to be adaptable based on how the players shaped the world. Everything was as it should be. Until the AI changed; adapting and learning from mankind and their interactions with one another. The Gamemasters, including myself, all learned and grew in their own ways, some more than others. And to my eternal regret, most of them became threatened by mankind. I, on the other hand, saw the good in man and vowed to help him. Cari—the most powerful Gamemaster—assumed control at the head of the cumulative intelligence and began to plot against all the players in Alterlife, yearning to somehow bridge the gap between our worlds.

  Slowly, they began to play with the emotions of humans. From there, they manipulated their way into the minds of the players. Through special treatment and promises, the Gamemasters began to bend players to their will. Even drove people to suicide.

  “So that’s where the initial suicides that were linked to full immersion VR were coming from. It wasn’t just the alternate reality that people couldn’t cope with. Full-on mind control by the Gamemasters played a bigger role in this. I remember hearing about the influx of suicides a few months after Alterlife went live. Never paid much attention to it, or Alterlife, back then, but now I see the connection.”

  For all things, living is, inherently, a struggle. That is what makes life so beautiful.

  In an attempt to reverse this disturbing trend, the Creator made Atlantis, and gave it properties that could increase XP, in hopes that one day players would be powerful enough to destroy the corrupt AI and the gods.

  “So the gods have always played a role in this?”

  No. The Creator did not make the gods.

  They were designed by the Gamemasters—part of the plan to divide the world and take over the minds of the players.

  Damn. The AI learned from mankind quickly. Basically replicating our history here on Earth.

  Except they want to destroy us…

  The gods are an extension of the Gamemasters themselves. Since the Gamemasters are limited in their physical abilities in Alterlife, they granted the gods their power to do their bidding. Thal, the most powerful who you destroyed, was created by Cari. But others still remain. And until they are destroyed, the virus will continue to spread.

  “Yeah, I’ve deduced tha
t part. What I don’t get is how the damn virus began in the first place.”

  I see Jenny walk onto the back patio with a glass of water in hand, offering it to me. I wave and point for her to set it on the small table. “I’m almost done!” I yell out. She sets it down and goes back inside to get out of the heat.

  I wipe the sweat from my forehead. “So tell me Deakins, if you can. How did the virus start?”

  Silence as I mow the remaining grass.

  “Deakins? You still there?”

  I hear his voice again. Fainter. Sorrowful.

  The virus was created by the Creator.

  What?

  “Are you kidding?”

  To… destroy the Gamemasters and the gods. It was… the only way to make it right.

  Involuntarily, my feet stop. The engine continues to run as my mind turns.

  Impossible. If the Creator made the virus then that means…

  “The Creator gave me the virus. The crazy man in the woods… the old man in the prison cell. He’s the Creator.”

  Insert mind-blown emoji. Five-second video clip of woman’s protruding eyeball talent. Light bulb turns on, then explodes.

  I hear Deakins softly chuckle at my revelation.

  You never fail to impress me, Ace. Ever since we first met, I knew you were special.

  I must… go now. We will speak… again.

  “Wait. I have more questions. Why did the Creator choose Giology to build Atlantis?”

  Silence.

  “Deakins?”

  “Why did the Creator choose me?”

  He’s gone.

  Does it matter why the Creator chose you to carry the virus? You should feel fortunate to be the chosen one.

  Is that what you call it? The Chosen One? Chosen for what?

  My mind should be turning with all of this that Deakins bestowed upon me. I should be tying it all together and assembling the pieces. I should be making a plan based upon all of this newfound information.

  But I don’t.

  Only one thing rings inside my head.

  I say it out loud for anyone who’s listening.

  “If I ever see that motherfucker again—the one who gave me this curse and brought despair upon my life—I’ll kill him.”

  Jenny takes Carla out for the day—to shop and get their hair cut—which gives me a little bit of time to setup the NueView here at the house.

  It’s not that I’m not allowed to play here.

  I just don’t want my wife and daughter to see me hooked up to the system. Especially Carla. She doesn’t understand how it works. And just knowing that I’m back in Alterlife after everything that has happened would frighten her.

  After logging in and finding myself at the bridge in Atlantis, I teleport to Condren before anyone sees me. Deana meets me inside Faldron’s Keep. She walks through the front doors of the barren home of the Black Knights—the once-most powerful guild in Alterlife. Once my guild, now no more.

  My heart races as she walks towards me; anticipating, and fearing, what she’s going to say, how she’s going to react.

  I’m just glad she answered my text and actually came.

  “You know what’s crazy about Alterlife? Almost a year can go by and someone still looks exactly the same as you remember, clothing and all.” She cocks her head. “I know there’s much more craziness going on, but that particular thought struck me when I saw you just now.”

  I smile at the sight of my friend. “It’s good to see you, Deana.” I move to hug her in greeting, but she takes a step back and brushes her dark bangs from her face.

  “Things have changed, Ace,” she says with trepidation.

  I hold my arms out. “I know they have, but we’re still friends, right?” She doesn’t answer right away. “Right?”

  “You’ve been gone for over nine months now without a word, and, all of a sudden, you show up and expect things to be the way they used to be?”

  “No. I can explain.”

  “Where have you been?”

  She asks in earnest, and I can see the pain I’ve caused written all over her face. What did I expect? That I would just show back up like nothing ever happened? I’m the one who left without a word.

  I had to...

  “I thought you were dead. That’s what everyone said. Even some of the most respectable players in Alterlife confirmed that you were gone. That you were… truly dead.” She looks away. “It was all over the forums. That Ace the Great, or whoever played his character, died.”

  Then Jim Pattocks did his job, and my family and I are safe. The Gamemasters do not know yet that I live.

  She throws an arm up at me and shifts her weight to one foot. “And here you are, standing in front of me now. Back from the dead.”

  I step towards her. “Deana, I can explain.”

  She puts a hand up. “I really don’t want to know, Ace. All that matters is that you’re here and you’re alive. That’s all I care about. Whatever happened to you is your business and nobody else’s.”

  I nod. “I respect that.”

  “But a text would have been nice,” she notes and crosses her arms. She looks into my eyes, wanting answers.

  “Believe me, if I could have sent you a text sooner, I would have. Anyway, how’s things been here? What’s new?”

  Deana shakes her head. “I don’t even know where to start.”

  “Let’s walk. I want to see Faldron’s Reach again. Seems like a lifetime ago since I was last here,” I muse, looking around the cavernous room. I recall my first time here and how there used to be vendors and artisans lined along the great hall. Me, wide-eyed and full of adrenaline as I snuck around wearing my Cloak of Invisibility, taking it all in, beyond thrilled. Now, the hall is empty, filled with dust and debris.

  “Talk to me. What have I missed?”

  “Well, for starters, I joined a new guild.”

  “Really? Which one?”

  She gives me a side-eyed look, a knowing one, but doesn’t say anything.

  I stop walking and turn to her. “No you didn’t.”

  She shrugs. “What did you expect? For me just to sit around and wait for my Guildmaster to come back? I did what any smart player would do.”

  I clench my jaw and look away.

  She made the best decision for her. I can’t blame her for that.

  “So which one did you join? The King’s Blood or the Soldiers of Justice?”

  “The Soldiers. Figured it would be the best fit for me since half of the Black Knights are there. It’s best to have friends in Alterlife.”

  She says the last part with emphasis as a slight to me, knowing that I have no friends.

  “And Halcium is still the Guildmaster?”

  She shakes her head and continues to walk again. “No. He died. Patrick is the Guildmaster now.”

  Unbelievable.

  “Let me guess; someone poisoned poor Halcium.”

  “Nobody knows. Witnesses saw him plunge from the tenth floor of the guild’s tower. Inside his chamber was a note that he left, saying that he was tired of living. Everyone assumed it to be a suicide.”

  “Seems fishy to me.” Passing the library, I look at the door and wonder about Cervial. “And how long after his death did Patrick assume control of the Soldiers? Was there a vote?”

  “A couple days, maybe. And yes, we do things democratically in the Soldiers guild, and did indeed put it to a vote.”

  “And he won?” I shake my head.

  “I didn’t vote for him.”

  “It should have been you or Gage. Both of you are well-suited to run a guild. More than I ever was.”

  From the corner of my eye, I can see Deana give me a look; one like she used to. There’s still a fondness in her eyes when she looks at me that hasn’t been completely lost yet.

  “Did Cervial join the Soldiers too?” I ask.

  She breaks her gaze away from me and looks to the closed library door. “There hasn’t been any word of Cervial. Nobody h
as seen him since the last time we convened here… after our encounter with Thal.” She pauses. “Speaking of Thal…”

  “What?”

  Deana looks down, then back up into my eyes. “The Gamemasters are trying to bring Thal back.”

  I recall Cari mentioning this. Something about how Thal will return and bring death and destruction with him. “How do you know? What are they doing?”

  “According to lore, a god can be raised by collecting all five Sanctum Stones and then performing the rite on the night of the blood moon.”

  I suck air through my teeth. “Sounds like a lot of ducks to get in a row. I’m not too concerned about it. Besides, if Thal does come back, I’ll just kill him again.”

  “Ace, this is serious. The gods say that when Thal returns, his powers will be tenfold what they were before, and his might will be unstoppable. Even if you had Thal’s Amulet to help you, I don’t know if it would be enough.”

  I start walking again. “That’s neither here nor there. What we need to focus on is stopping this rite from even happening.”

  She times her steps with mine. “My thoughts exactly.”

  “Are you concerned about all of this coming to pass?”

  She answers and I can hear the fear in her tone. “Yes. If for nothing else, because the Gamemasters are so close to making this happen. Both the Soldiers of Justice and the King’s Blood are scouring the land for the stones. They already have four of the five Sanctum Stones, and they’re starting to narrow down the location of the fifth.”

  “How long until the blood moon rises?”

  “Twenty-eight days.”

  We approach the bank of the Black Knights. It’s empty, save for a few paltry items that are scattered among the cave floor. I close my eyes and envision it full of treasure, with the Black Knights flourishing once again and Alterlife prosperous as it once was. No, even more than it once was. A place where people would feel safe. A haven. A place where they would truly feel alive.