Continue Online (Part 3, Realities) (16 page)

"So does that mean I'm better?" My heart thumped again for a much different reason. This wasn't panic. It was a demented sort of amazement at being validated. The belief that Xin might be alive inside the machine was signed off on by someone else in reality. Doctor Litt of all people, even if he kind of sounded crazy.

An alarm beeped. Across his desk, a message popped up. I couldn't read it from this angle but it seemed to be a notice that someone else wanted a meeting. He stared at it then pressed a button. The message folded away.

"Sorry. I can get really distracted by this stuff, so it's best to have reminders set up." He waved off the message and pressed both lips together in annoyance.

"I understand. That's why I missed our last meeting." I wanted to apologize for skipping out. Wandering the mountains or whatever seemed very low in importance compared to making my meetings. Especially if Doctor Litt might actually believe me. A box popped up again and I watched Doctor Litt scowl and press the button to put it off.

"Don't worry about it. I'm more concerned with knowing you're on the right track. Your LSM didn't go off." He was talking about my state-mandated life support monitor. One they put in after the second attempt. Another message popped up and interrupted us briefly. "So we can take steps to certifying your readiness, on a probationary basis."

This was different from the certification I had saying I was better. This would mean that legally no one else had to be responsible for me. With it, I could revoke Liz's power of attorney.

"I'll do whatever's needed." I nodded and bit at my lip.

A fourth box disrupted our conversation, then a fifth in rapid succession. This time Doctor Litt jammed his thumb down so hard he started grumbling from pain.

I liked Doctor Litt, not because he was exceptionally good. He was abrasive, fluttery, and over the top. Sometimes his professionalism could be questionable. But his antics were amusing enough that my guard lowered a little. That and talking with him was easier than it might be to other people. Plus he was quick to be positive about things. It was almost comical.

Finally he gave up trying to dismiss the ever increasing messages and pressed another button. "Hi, Linda, this is Doctor Litt."

"Doctor, thank goodness you answered. I need to talk to you," a woman answered the phone. She sounded shaken up about something. I tried to tune it out before any intrusive topics came up.

"I'm always willing to talk, but I'm wrapping up with another client and need a few minutes."

"But this will only take a moment, Doctor Litt."

"Linda, I promise to call you back in five minutes. I promise. If this is about our prior topic then it's best if no one else overhears." He kept reassuring her and talking over the words coming out of Linda's mouth, whoever that was. Then he clicked off the call.

We both waited for a good ten seconds before doing anything else. There were no more messages displaying on the desk.

"Well, that puts a time limit on things. So, here's what I can do right now. I'll talk to your sister, and let her know you are making honest to god progress." He smiled. "And you are, Grant, you truly are."

I gave a half smile back while slowly nodding. This meeting wouldn't end the way I hoped.

"Unfortunately," I flinched at Litt's word, "there are certain obligations I have to meet before I can sign off on revoking guardianship. It will take time to finalize the paperwork, get your sister to sign off, and then file it with the county."

"How long?"

"Legally, it should be around three weeks. I'll be required to do at least one more evaluation when we have..." A call popped up again which made Doctor Litt scowl, "...more time."

He closed his eyes for a long time then took a huge breath. Part of me worried that Doctor Litt made those same faces before dialing into our meetings within the ARC.

Part of me found it funny. Maybe I needed to get out more. At least the walls didn't feel so fake and the chair not so large. My clothes were a bit loose though which meant new ones needed to be purchased. That could be a good distraction on the way home.

"Hi, Linda." He clicked something in his ear and the conversation stopped spilling about the room. "Yes, go ahead."

Doctor Litt looked at me and shrugged. Another button was pressed on his desk.

"I want to hear more about this game. Plus keep up whatever exercise you're doing, you're looking great," he said with a thumbs up that reminded me of Shazam. "Yes, Linda. I've got a transcript of our last meeting in front of me."

I felt exhausted. My one hope of getting life back on track had been dashed by paperwork and another client with a pushy speed dial button. I thought about yanking out the earpiece and screaming into it. This was my hour, my meeting that I waited for, my life that she was butting in on.

Like most people, I said none of those things and prepared to leave. At least, until Doctor Litt interrupted my attempt to make it out the door.

"Grant. Do you have a bad guy yet?" he said.

"What?" I wrinkled my forehead and tried to understand how that question fit into everything else.

"A bad guy. You've got a damsel in digital distress. Do you have a bad guy? Bowser to your Princess Mulan?" Doctor Litt stared at me from the side of his eyes. His hand cupped over an ear.

I thought about those who had crossed paths with me since this game had started. The Jester disturbed me but didn't seem like an evil villain. It was a disquieting figure with cold hands and a constant grin, that let me feel Xin's hands and talk to her.

"No. Not really. Just me." I got in my own way more often than anything else.

"Good. That's great." Doctor Litt might be talking to me, or might be talking to Linda. "Grant, don't stress if there's no bad guy in your game."

I had never really thought about having an actual bad guy. The closest thing to that had been Requiem Mass, and he was more of an abused kid taking his angst out on the world. No one else even seemed remotely confrontational. James might be some Machiavellian overseer dragging me around like a puppet, but that wasn't the mark of a villain, was it?

Maybe Dusk could be my bad guy.

"No really, Grant. Dressing someone up as a bad guy shifts responsibility to another figure. Not having a, a villain, to me that means you're taking responsibility." Doctor Litt paused to acknowledge Linda again before looking at me. "That's huge. You're working on improving yourself. Don't stop. Keep moving forward."

I nodded a few times.

Xin had said almost the same thing. Her words were actually 'don't look back, don't hesitate'. One final nod came from me. Doctor Litt may seem absent minded but his eyes stayed upon me the entire time. He waved goodbye and I went back to my van.

It felt strange to have Doctor Litt be the one in my corner. Especially when he delivered the news that my problems with legal control were not going to be solved that quickly. Like I had been pat on the back and backhanded at the same time.

"User Legate?" Hal Pal blinked to life.

I took in a deep breath of air and tried to relax. My back felt tense enough to crack a rib. "What's up?"

"You should get some rest," it said.

"Sleep's a hard thing to come by when your head's a mess." I tried not to laugh. How many people in the world suffered sleepless nights because of one mental problem or another? Part of me wished to be young again, when the worst thing in life involved other kids in high school. There was something about those years where it all felt so easy to bounce back from.

Maybe that was the worst thing about growing up. The cracks and flaws in an adult's personality were harder to fill in.

"Ah. Human software seems inefficient at times."

"Says the man who can't dodge a four armed half-man." I smiled at Hal Pal while trying to make light of the conversation.

"Our problems define us, don't they, User Legate?"

"I wish mine weren't so..." I didn't know how to describe my category of problems without sounding whiny. Dad had raised me to be a better man than that.

"In our studies, it is shown that nearly every human being is crippled in some way. We suggest that you do not stress about what is wrong with you, and instead focus on what you can do."

"To contribute to the cause."

"Affirmative, User Legate."

"Easy for you to say," I said. At least the robot could reprogram things. Or maybe it couldn't. Hadn't Hal Pal admitted to having problems learning any kind of combat abilities within Advance Online?

"What would Xin do, were she forced to choose between giving it her all in a new world, and returning to the old one?" Hal Pal dropped an enormous question on me. It caused me to blink and put thoughts of Doctor Litt out of my head for the moment.

"She'd do her best." I chewed one lip in thought.

"Affirmative, User Legate. Based on our understanding, she will also wish for you to do your best." Hal Pal turned around my brooding attitude.

"Alright." I nodded again. The AI made sense. There was a problem in front of me. Hal Pal wanted help keeping the
[Wayfarer Seven]
in one piece. However brief my stay in Advance Online might be, there was no reason not to perform to the best of my ability.

Session Forty Six – Off Roading

I had a new goal. Saving the
[Wayfarer Seven]
was important to Hal Pal, sure. We had talked about it briefly. It had no method by which to do so and not enough information about the threat to each prior
[Wayfarer]
ship.

My goal would tide us over until then. Our skills would increase. We would learn a bit more about this game world, at least I would. Plus by following through with my next goal I would knock something absolutely insane off my bucket list.

It was time to get a spaceship. One with laser beams. A two-seater so Hal Pal could jaunt around with me.
[Mechanoid]
s did better with more of their kind around according to their racial description.

"Treasure." I started with the most technically savvy
[Mechanoid]
available. Iron certainly didn't fit the bill, and Emerald went the opposite direction.

"Unit Hermes. How are you and Dusk doing today?" she sounded a bit more tired than normal. It interested me how each voice could have a different volume to it, which assisted in portraying emotional undertones.

"Good. I wanted to learn how to fly a ship. Is that possible?" I said.

Treasure's head tilted as she considered my statement. Her eyes were likely going over invisible calculations tied to my character status. Days of fighting simulations and doing cleaning work on the sensor arrays had to count for something.

"Next door is an unused space. You may activate a flight training module there."

I flashed her a wide grin. "Thank you!" I said. Training modules were both boring and useful. Teenage me would never have focused on these training courses. Driver's education had been stale beyond belief.

"You are very welcome, Unit Hermes. Please continue your contributions." And just like that Treasure was distracted by something else. It looked like a fresh scan of Dusk with a recent timestamp sat on one wall.

Part of me worried that a game AI decided to get worked up about a creature from another game. Even if both were essentially alternate realities at this point. At least Dusk's race still listed
[Messenger's Pet]
, it made me feel more at home. I didn't really handle his lack of wings right. He looked streamlined and like a flat raptor.

I went back out of the door and stared at Hal Pal. Hal Pal gave a muted smile. Even with his new
[Mechanoid]
body, it couldn't display intense emotion. Maybe he didn't feel things that thoroughly.

"Was your endeavor successful, User Legate?" The AI kept slipping up with my name. Maybe it didn't know how to handle prioritizing which name would be used. I did call it Hal even though the character name was Jeeves.

"Yep. Next door." I answered while pointing to another room.

"Are you sure this venture will assist?" Hal Pal spoke in two vocal tones like all the other
[Mechanoid]
s. The merger was both male and female. It made Hal Pal sound like an abstract mythical being designed to be androgenic. I looked up to the side in thought, that was probably accurate.

"Nope, but we'll pick up new skills. It will increase our stats. If you look at the Piloting skill online, every hour spent increases coordination and reaction." I took a breath and sighed. "We'll need those to fight."

"If you say so, User Legate. Are we combining any other skills?"

"We should be able to. I've got the spreadsheet in the van's data if you want to look." Hours had gone into that data point. My accounting skills finally came into play trimming down which skills were available. Looking for ones that stacked with each other. There didn't seem to be Paths like Continue Online, instead there were
[Core]
s.

Well, there was a lot out there, but only a few were easily available. Space flight skills seemed to be suggested for all players, like riding a
[Callibur]
or any other mount in Continue.