Virtual Prophet (22 page)

CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR

“As fans have just witnessed, Danielle did the impossible! She exited her avatar inside the Game to return to her body here in reality!

“In addition to fans all over the world witnessing the event as it happened, players not inside the Game watched as well. Now that Danielle has returned, Game Centres around the world have begun the process of sending every available player back into the Game. Earth is about to see its biggest population explosion ever.

“No one knows for sure why Trew is sending in so many players this quickly but one thing is certain; something important and worth watching is about to happen inside the Game again!”

Lisa Rohansen, Game News Central

Danielle, Trew, and Cooper sat in Sylvia’s office. Both Sylvia and Danni were excited to meet each other for the first time; they were like two girls chatting and catching up on gossip as if they were friends who hadn’t seen each other in years. When Trew had mentioned something to that effect, both had laughed and Danni had rolled her eyes. From the tone of Sylvia’s voice, Trew could picture her doing the same.

Next, Cooper brought Danni up to speed on the plan and what still needed to be done. After he was finished, she looked at Trew in wonder. “Wow, Brandon has been working towards this for thirty year
s
?”

Trew nodded.

“It sounds impossible for everything to fit so perfectly into place.”

“Yet here we are,” Cooper said. “It’s all coming together. The impossible parts are complete; most of them are. You waking up was the one thing that only Brandon believed could be accomplished. Now that you’ve achieved that, it’s possible for anyone to do the same thing inside the Game universe.”

“It’s possible to do here as well,” Danni said.

Cooper’s eyebrows arched curiously, then he shrugged his shoulders. “There wouldn’t be a point to that, but I guess you’re right.”

“Why wouldn’t there be a point to it?”

“Because there’s nothing to wake up from,” Cooper said.

“I suppose,” Danni let the thought hang in the air for a moment and then she continued to speak. “So the half billion players are born into the Game and we wait?”

“Yes,” Trew said.

“How long?”

“Week and a half,” Cooper said. “Until they are around fifteen.”

“That will leave us, what? One week?” Danni asked.

“Yes,” Trew admitted grimly, “it’s cutting things close. NPCs will begin dying in large numbers two and a half weeks from today.”

“They aren’t NPCs, though,” Danni had been stunned to hear this.

“Many aren’t,” Trew said. “They’re real people from a different reality, stuck in a game and about to die.”

“I’m feeling pretty optimistic that they won’t,” Cooper admitted.

“So am I,” Trew smiled.

“I’m not hearing any details that involve me,” Danni said.

“Well,” Cooper looked at her with an amused expression. “There was a very important part that you did play; I think we covered it a few hours ago.”

“Yes, I’ll take a bow for that part,” Danni said. “That’s it, then? I can collect my credits and go on with my life? I get the feeling the entire planet is not too productive at the moment while everyone watches what’s going on in the Game.”

Trew smiled at his wife; he still thought of her as his wife, even though he was eighteen and she was seventeen, and probably boyfriend/girlfriend at the most, according to Tygon law. “There’s more for you to do, Danni,” he said.

“Excellent,” she smiled and rubbed her hands together. “What have you got cooked up for me, lover boy?”

Trew chuckled and shook his head. “I have absolutely nothing planned for you, babe,” he said.

Her smile became a pout. “Well then why are you saying that there’s more for me to do?”

“I know what comes next for you, Danni,” Sylvia said helpfully. “Brandon left me directions for you, if you happened to make it this far.”

“Great!” She said. “What do you have for me, Sylvia?”

“How do you feel about going back?” Sylvia asked.

“Into the Game?”

“Yes, back into the Game,” Sylvia confirmed.

“When?” Danni asked.

“That’s the thing,” Sylvia sounded apologetic. “You’ve been here a few hours, which means that months have gone by inside the Game...”

Danni and Trew looked at each other. He shook his head, and she walked over to rest her hand on his shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze. “You want me to go back in as soon as possible?”

“Ten minutes ago would have been optimal,” Sylvia admitted, “but anytime in the next half hour will do nicely.”

“For how long?” Danni asked.

“Not long, from a Tygon point of view...”

Danni laughed at the vague statement. It could be two days or twenty years inside the Game, both would be a short time from a Tygon point of view. “Okay,” she nodded. “I’m willing to fill whatever role Brandon needs me to play.”

Trew stood up and walked to the door. “Let’s get you back to Earth, then. I know you’re coming back soon, babe.”

“I believe you,” she smiled, “and I can’t wait.”

CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE

“How many days will I be gone this time?” Danni asked as the elevator moved downwards.

“Less than one,” Trew said.

“Really?”

“Your purpose for this visit is to show the parents of the world that you left and are able to come back.”

“It’s important for them to know we can come back?”

“It’s important for them to be certain that there is a place where they go when their lives end on Earth,” Trew said. “Children believe what their parents believe. Enough people believing something makes it accepted by society. Earth society must believe that it is possible to travel to another dimension.”

“I don’t see the point in players being born to learn how to eject themselves from the Game,” Danni said.

Trew smiled and shook his head. “We are doing things indirectly,” he explained. “We don’t want Tygon players to be able to eject themselves from the Game; that would mess up the whole dynamic of our world system. Yet that is exactly what we must have for the real goal to be reached.”

“We want players from the Dream to learn how to eject themselves from Earth,” Cooper said. “The newly arriving children from Tygon will spend the next dozen years becoming spiritual masters and young teachers. Earth will be flooded with a new type of phenomenon, young spiritual children who will teach everyone methods for executing true spiritual transcendence.”

“They will teach the NPCs — sorry, I mean Dreamers — how to wake up.”

“That’s the goal,” Cooper nodded. “Melissa can’t come back to tell the world what she did, but you can. You repeated her accomplishment and showed millions of players here that it could be done. Everyone being born into the Game right now knows that this is possible.”

“They’ll forget, though,” Danni said. “When they’re born, their memories will be wiped and they’ll forget what they saw on Tygon.”

Trew shook his head. “Not this time. Sylvia has awarded free perks and abilities to every player entering the Game for this play. They will have faint genetic memory that becomes unfailing certainty as they grow older. They will know the truth; that it’s possible to wake up from the Game of life that they are living in. At first it will be hidden, but as they are raised and trained, the memories and certainties of what they saw you do will surface. Then they’ll know that it’s possible and will work towards being able to teach this skill to others.”

“That’s excellent,” Danni said.

“They will also be able to identify the difference between Dreamers and Tygon souls,” Cooper said.

“For what purpose?”

“They will feel compelled to seek out Dreamers and teach them,” Trew said. “We don’t care about helping Tygon being able to eject themselves, we take care of that for them when they die. Dreamers are stuck, and if they don’t eject soon then they die permanently.”

The three arrived at Danni’s private room. Doctors and nurses quickly hooked her up to the proper equipment while Trew and Danni sat beside each other.

“You’re going back into your body, with all memories intact,” Trew said.

“Sounds like fun,” Danni smiled.

“It should be. Now before you get going, let’s give you the details of what we need you to do while you’re inside.”

For the next few moments Trew delivered precise instructions on what tasks Danni needed to perform. When he finished, she nodded her head.

“What do I do when I’m done?” she asked.

“Deep meditation and come back to me,” Trew smiled and kissed her lightly on the cheek. “You’ve been gone for about six months, so it will take a few days for you to feel well enough to be up and around.”

“Okay,”

“There have been some major developments since you left,” Cooper said. “Power has been restored to every major colony. Stephanie has helped each group elect new leaders and has gone back to the dark side of things. Basic communications have been restored thanks to Shane and the other Timeless around the world, and Brandon is overseeing all of it.”

“Brandon?” Danni asked. “What’s he doing inside the Game? Who is he in there?”

Trew smiled, “I thought you knew, babe. Brandon is Azrael.”

Danni laughed and shook her head. “I had no idea.”

Trew smiled and kissed her gently on the cheek. “When you get up and mobile, Brandon will put you to work.”

“So I just stand up and wave my arms to show everyone that I left and can return?”

Trew and Cooper smiled. “Knowing Brandon, he’ll likely have you do a bit more than that,” Trew said. “I believe you will be introduced as the world’s most prominent holy figure.”

“Holy figure? You gotta be kidding me.”

“On the feeds, Brandon has begun to refer to a Virtual Prophet returning from the world that all avatars come from,” Cooper smiled. “Sounds an awful lot like he’s talking about you.”

Danni raised her eyebrows and shook her head. “Great,” she said.

“Religion is the quickest way for Earth to build a movement; this is why it was encouraged since day one. The other religions of the ages have been dry runs to prepare Earth to get ready for this major event.”

“Okay, then,” Danni looked dubious.

“It could be fun,” Trew laughed.

CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX

The Dream

“Good morning, General.”

The General opened his eyes, blinking slowly as a white wall came into focus inches away. He slept on a small cot in a tiny room. Everything was white and sterile, except for the dark green wool blanket that covered him. He didn’t bother to turn over. “How do you know it’s morning?” he grumbled, blinking his eyes as he waited for full consciousness to return to him.

There was a brief silence; the General knew the man behind him wasn’t amused by his question. The man behind him seldom came to see him; their history together wasn’t very pleasant.

“I’ve come to share some exciting news, General.”

The General waited a few moments, then furrowed his eyebrows at the wall and spoke. “Then tell me and get out, Thorn.”

“The Dreamers will soon begin to wake.”

The General slowly turned over, his tired, weary frame feeling the effects of age and lack of exercise over the past few months. He grunted involuntarily and winced as his right hip sent a jab of electric pain downwards into his foot. Panting slightly, he moved his head back and forth on the pillow for comfort as he gazed at the man who had destroyed his entire life’s work in the space of a few months... with a computer game.

“How many?” the General asked cautiously. It’d been months since the world had gone to sleep, all but a few souls trapped in the virtual reality game created by Thorn. The General could still picture the look of defeat on Thorn’s face when he’d admitted that things had gotten away from him; when he told the General that, in all likelihood, their people would soon become extinct from this planet. Thorn looked less defeated today, though; was that actual hope in the man’s eyes?

“Only a few will wake up at first,” Thorn said. “I think it would be good for you to be up and about when they do, General. It’s time to get up off this cot and help me.”

“Help you do what?” the General asked. “Do you want the few remaining survivors shot in the head? At this point it would be better for none of them to wake up. There isn’t much of a world left to return to, thanks to you, Thorn.”

Thorn shook his head. “Don’t scold me, General. You know better than anyone how years of careful planning can come apart in an instant.”

The General sat up and leaned against the wall. He chuckled bitterly at Thorn’s statement. “I suppose I do, Mr. Thorn,” he said. “Luck can be a nasty bitch.”

Thorn smiled and nodded. “I think it’s safe to say that, as adversaries, we did a spectacular job of ruining everything both of us ever held dear, wouldn’t you agree?”

The General looked around, his gaze stopping for a moment on the live television screen that showed the outside world from the cameras posted around the compound walls. Everything looked blue and green, full of life as birds flew by and squirrels hopped on the ground going about their business. “It doesn’t look like the rest of the world would miss us terribly if we did cease to exist,” he said.

Thorn followed his gaze to the monitor and nodded in agreement. “I’ve been working hard to fix the mess that was caused,” he said. “Melissa has returned to us. She was stuck inside Sim2 with no chance of escaping, yet she did. Her doing so has made it possible for everyone else to do the same thing.”

“That’s good news, Mr. Thorn,” the General nodded. “Do you think others will follow her out?”

“Plans are in place. I think that many will make it back to us.”

“What do you need from me?”

“Soon, over a hundred of your Avatar soldiers will make their way out of Sim2. I want to put them to work by having them begin to forage outside the compound to restore basic power and infrastructure. After that, we expect more to join in an exodus out of the simulation. As people wake up we should have measures in place to help them recuperate and begin to reestablish some semblance of life here in the Dream. That will require leadership, General. I think you possess the skills necessary to lead us in this new age of change.”

The General looked at Thorn suspiciously. “You know what I wanted to accomplish better than anyone,” he said. “Why are you coming to me now, asking me to lead? I dreamt of controlling the world, of being the leader where everyone did what I told them to do.”

Thorn shrugged. “That’s the world we lived in at the time,” he said. “We were bred to follow those who were bred to lead. You might have been bent on taking over as leader, but you wouldn’t have been any different from those who came before you.”

The General looked surprised by Thorn’s frank, but astute comment.

“The world can be different this time,” Thorn said. “Or maybe it can’t. All I know right now is that I almost caused the extinction of our race, and we might just have a chance to change that. If that happens, then we need someone to step up and help society survive.” Thorn shook his head and tapped the General lightly on the chest. “I’m not a leader, but you are.”

The General thought for a moment, and then stood up. He smoothed his hair back and straightened his posture. “Okay, Mr. Thorn,” he said. “If you can bring them back, then I’m willing to help develop a new society for us to rebuild our race.”

Thorn smiled. “I’m glad to hear that, General.”

The General smiled and clapped Thorn on the shoulder. “From now on, I think it’s best for you to call me Donovan.”