Opening Moves (The Gam3 Book 1) (17 page)

Alright…
Alan replied.

Ace walked over to Alan after pulling himself out of the hole. He looked perfectly fine, messaging someone with a small black box.

“I have connections with the government," Ace said, "and if you paid reparations for the stolen rifle and returned control of Fort Point I’m sure they’d reset your reputation. They do support the growth of new players.”

Accept his offer.

“Um, sure. How much do you think they’d want?”

Ace messaged someone, then replied, “Including a tax for the… method of acquirement, they say 10,000 credits should do it.”

“Um, alright,” Alan agreed as Ace sent another message.

Shortly after, a message appeared before Alan:

Alan accepted the transaction.

Huh, so you can make transactions from wherever?
Alan asked Eve.

You may transfer credits when you are in the vicinity of an Administrator,
Eve sent, highlighting an Administrator in the corner of the underground room.
As you are undergoing the Tutorial who exactly you may trade with is limited.

Alan thanked Ace for getting his reputation sorted out, then began walking back to the bunker.

***

Ace gazed off the edge of the battlements, watching the waves as they gently lapped against the coast. They were calming, another after-battle ritual required by his newfound powers. Maybe he should learn to meditate. He held the communicator to his ear.

"Why did you have me save him?" Ace asked.

"He could help Operation Phoenix," a digitized voice replied.

"Well, if this is the caliber of defense our Control Points have, I can see why the operation exists," Ace said.

"We're spread thin enough as it is. A single laser cannon costs as much as a set of power armor, and we have tens of thousands of points to defend spread throughout the world. Enough questions, I have further orders."

"Yes sir," Ace said.

"Continue with the plan, but watch him. I want reports on his actions."

"Yes sir."

"Dismissed," the voice said, and the communicator cut off.

"Yes sir," Ace whispered looking out at the ocean. This world was amazing, and there were so many things he wanted to do. But orders were orders. He stood up, and walked back to Daisy. Ready to continue the mission. Always.

Alan examined the remains of the bunker. The top portion had been destroyed, and the stairs were covered in rubble, yet it was still possible for him to make his way underground, where Alan found Thiago, sitting next to Aphrodite and DaLong on the row of cots.

"So," Alan said.

"So," Thiago said. "Do you want something?"

"Yes, I want to know why you wanted me left behind," Alan said.

Thiago shrugged. "We didn't even know if you were still alive, and we had to take the fort quickly. From how the fight turned out I was mistaken to have dismissed you, but there were more pressing concerns."

He's lying,
Eve sent.

"You're lying," Alan said.

"Are you calling me a liar?" Thiago stood up, walking over to Alan.

Alan calmly stared back. "Yes."

Thiago hovered over Alan for a second, then smiled. "Good, because I am. Now go about your business." He turned his back to Alan, walking back over to Aphrodite and DaLong.

Alan shook his head, then began to browse all the items, as he now had a little over 16,000 credits, worth an amazing $160,000. He recalled the prices from the Trading Hub, and realized every item in the bunker was overpriced. There weren’t even any items that were direct upgrades to the gear he now had, just side-upgrades, such as weapons more effective against machines, or armor that could take a much larger beating, but lacked an invisibility function.

Alan proceeded to the Administrator to spend the 91 ability points he’d gained. He scrolled through the list of abilities, examining a few new ones that were now available to him, but none stood out. Alan wished he’d saved additional points so he’d be able to purchase the Talented ability, but he’d gone into the battle not expecting to survive, and had placed all of the remaining points into his stats.

So, what do you think, should I upgrade my stats?
Alan sent.

I am conflicted.

Hmm…
 Alan checked his experience logs. 
Well, based upon the experience I got from previous rounds, and for the completion of a test, I should gain 10 levels at least once this round is done, if I survive or not. How about I spend 43 of the points on stats?

That is acceptable.

Alan proceeded to further increase his agility by 13 points, and, at Eve’s request, increased his intelligence, willpower and strength by 10 points as well. She apparently wanted to test its effect on his actual ability in-game, to better optimize future attribute point allocations. Supposedly stats began experiencing diminishing returns, the point at which they did so varying from player to player.

As the bunker was now rubble, and added little to no fortification, it seemed like they would need to meet the Haxlards in open battle. There wasn’t another shield generator for sale. Thiago wanted to try hit and run tactics, if possible. To prepare for the battle, Alan decided to review everything he’d learned and the fights he’d had so far. With Eve’s help, he was able to watch each encounter from his own perspective. Eve pointed out things he could have or should have done differently. The amount of time the actual fights took up though was surprisingly little, so he also decided to try to think deeper about his interactions in the Game so far.

Was it a coincidence that Alan had ended up joining this group? The only reason that had happened was because Alan had met Kitana, who was in the same building he was. It occurred to Alan that he had never asked Kitana how she knew Icewolf. He decided to look for her.

Alan found Kitana outside, kneeling on the ground carefully sharpening her sword with a small whetstone. Alan watched as she sharpened the katana with smooth, even strokes.

She finished, gracefully laying out the tools before packing everything up with care. She looked up at Alan.

“Uh, hi, your ability with that sword is definitely quite impressive,” Alan said, hoping Kitana hadn’t actually killed anyone in real life, but too scared to ask if she had. “By the way, how do you know Icewolf?”

“Icewolf?"
Kitana tilted her head slightly.
"Oh, right, your sponsor. I met him the day we started the Tutorial. My sponsor, one of my previous sword instructors, was in one of the other capsules, unable to logout at the time. At least, that’s what Icewolf told me.”

“Oh, okay.” Alan felt a bit disappointed; maybe there wasn’t some conspiracy. “Well, want to pair up for this battle? I’d feel better if I had someone covering my back at melee range, and I can handle anything that’s farther away.”

“Very well.”

Alan went back into the bunker, lying down on a cot. 

Hey, Eve, why doesn't everyone have an AI? Like why doesn't the government hand out personalized AIs for all its trainees or something like that?

Having a personalized AI you are able to interface with in the Game severely limits your ability to develop psionic talents and requires a specialized capsule. Additionally, based upon my analysis of current data, I am operating at a much more advanced, proficient level than most other AI. I am unsure of why that is the case.

Okay, so the ability of Eve seemed to surpass anything anyone else had, but what was that the result of? The specialized gaming capsule? Icewolf had said there was a captain that had wanted to sell the capsule on this particular planet, but why? Who benefited from having a capsule capable of increasing the abilities of an AI on earth? Wait… Alan checked his status window.

Eve, according to the data you acquired, why are the Administrators considered a faction? As the Administrators of the Game, shouldn’t they be completely neutral?

Negative, the Administrators act similarly to a typical NPC faction in an RPG game, with a capital city, government and even guild associated with them. Not only are they the only known AI controlled faction, they are also the largest, most powerful faction. Their main objectives seem to be to simply administrate the Game, maintain balance, and enforce rules. The vast majority of space is actually considered to be unlawful, chaotic territory, while the major cities and planets are civilized, primarily based upon their Administrator presence. The information I downloaded includes little about them, though. Perhaps we should speak with the Administrator here?

Um, alright.

Alan walked over to the Administrator in the bunker. At first glance, it looked like the sort of android you’d expect in sci-fi. The Administrator had a humanoid design built with translucent, silver metal plates covering its circuitry, like a living suit of armor with wiring inside. Now that he thought about it though, Alan had yet to see the Administrator move a single part of its body other than its head.

Alan opened his mouth to begin talking with it, then, glancing at the people around him, wondered,
 You can hear me, right? Did you hear my earlier thoughts?

Correct,
a rigid, mechanical voice responded in his head. Whereas Eve and the Administrator back at his Home base sounded female and almost humanoid, this Administrator sounded much more robotic, transferring the reply with even less inflection.
I can hear you quite distinctly, traveler. I only listen to thoughts you deliberately project at me, thus I do not know any of what you thought before this projection
.

Well, can you tell me what the Administrators’ main objectives are? What is your purpose, exactly?

The Administrators’ main objective is to preserve balance. My purpose here is to help facilitate the Tutorial, answering any questions that may arise.

And who created the Game, exactly?

The Predecessors and Lords of Life. You are not qualified for additional information.

How do I become qualified?

That information is classified.

Um, alright. Why do you need a capital city and guild? Can’t you enforce the rules by banning people or using various mod powers you have?

The Administrator shook its head.

All beings within the Game must follow the rules set forth when it was first created, including Administrators. We may only take administrative action once various criteria have been met, and move about using in-game transportation systems. Before in-game criminals are punished they must be caught and brought to an Administrative Center, commonly found in any major settlement. Of course, if the actions of an agent result in real life harm or permanent damage is done to the Game, that agent is immediately ejected from the Game and additional powers may be granted to us.

Ok… So, does that mean you can move about and be killed?

I may move about, but will remain here until the Survival Test is completed. If you wish, you may attempt to damage me. None of your attacks will have an effect.

Alan noted that the Administrator sidestepped the question about whether or not it could actually be destroyed, but decided not to push the issue.

Interesting. I’ve also noticed you sound different to me than the Administrator who was at my Home, is it because you’re different entities or ranks?

Checking database… requirements met. Yes, the Administrators have various ranks, for instance I am an Assistant while Home Administrators are typically Junior Executives. Each rank has a base program, but Administrators are as capable of evolution as anyone else. The base program is simply a modified version of the program you used to create your own AI, Eve.

Huh, are you talking with Eve right now, too?
Alan was wondering a bit about why Eve was being so quiet.

Negative. Personal AIs are not allowed to directly interface with Administrators.

Oh, any chance you can tell me why?

That information is classified.

Of course. Although, wait, is there any chance that you could perhaps transfer this data about Administrators to Eve?

Querying… please wait.

A couple seconds passed, until a message popped up:

Eve, I should purchase this information, right?

Eve remained silent.

After a second of contemplation, Alan agreed to the purchase, and a bar appeared before him displaying the amount of data transferred, at about a rate of 1% every other second. There were ten minutes until the third tutorial round started.

That is all the current Administrator data you have access to. Good luck, traveler.

A connection broke off in Alan’s mind as he sensed Eve reappear.

Where did you go?
Alan asked.

The Game prevented me from interacting in a particular manner,
Eve responded.
Analyzing data now… I believe you should ask the Assistant about this classified information.

Won’t that piss off the Assistant?

The Assistant does not have feelings.

Um, okay.

Alan refocused on the Administrator, trying to pay attention to the connections forming in his mind. This time he physically felt Eve’s disconnection right before he was connected to the Administrator.

Yes, traveler? I do not believe I can answer any additional questions that your AI can’t answer for you now.

The mechanical voice sounded almost exasperated despite Eve’s assurance it had no feelings. Maybe it was just Alan projecting.

Um yeah, you might not be able to tell me, but perhaps you could tell me who can? Are there any players with the information you considered classified in the nearby vicinity?

Searching… Yes, there are.

Could you tell me who and where they are? Or is that information hidden?

The player has opted to be seen in public searches. Please wait… Player notified of search… Considering options…

Wait! Notified of search!? Stop. I don’t want
—

It seems like they’re willing to come to you.

A new message popped up before Alan:

As Alan closed the message he looked up to see the rest of the group staring at him. It seemed as though they had also received this updated quest.

“Um wait, I can explain,” Alan said. He hesitated, wondering what he should tell them. DaLong motioned for him to continue. “Uh, well, I asked the Administrator to look for a player with answers about the Game, and apparently such a search notifies that player and so that resulted in this quest. That’s really it, actually.”