Digital Heretic (12 page)

 
How can this be? The other three don’t seem surprised by the number, and I’ve been instructed to stay quiet during the meeting, so I say nothing. I’ll ask questions after we leave.

 
The Devil nods again and looks upwards at the ceiling. He purses his lips in thought and continues to nod. Gabriel sits quietly, sipping his drink. Carl resembles a stone statue, sitting there doing nothing, although every once in a while I catch him looking at me.

 
“Yeah, wow. The system is really being taxed,” the Devil says. “For the past 50 years we’ve had way too many avatars in here. Most of them doing nothing, wasting time, resources and everything else. I agree that it’s time to trim the fat. Gabriel?”

 
Gabriel looks at me and his face is grim. I’m not entirely sure what they are talking about, but the term ‘trim the fat’ doesn’t sound good. Gabriel nods in agreement. “Yes, Daniel. Far too many, for far too long. As of this moment, the Infernals have clearance to begin ejecting players from the Game. Eternals will not interfere, as long as we are not attacked and you follow the basic plan. What’s the number you received?”

  “Five hundred,” the Devil
says.

 
“Agreed,” Gabriel responds.

 
“Okie dokie, then. We will get to work.” The Devil smiles and slaps Carl on the back. Carl says nothing, but I can see his eyes begin to swirl.

 
I think I’ve done pretty good so far, staying quiet. Everyone is standing; I guess the meeting is over.

 
“Um… can I ask one question?” I ask.

 
“Sure kid, fire away,” the Devil says.

 
“Eject players? How do you do that? And 500? As in 500,000 human beings currently living on Earth?”

 
“Well, the quickest — hell, the only way, really, to eject a player is for them to die. And we aren’t talking about waiting for them to get old and drop, so Carl and his pack are going to kill some human beings.”

 
I feel numb. How can Gabriel agree to this? Aren’t Eternals supposed to be good? “So you’re going to kill half a million innocent humans?”

 
The Devil laughs. “No, darlin’. We are going to kill half a billion humans. And they aren’t innocent. Most of them are guilty. You might say as guilty as sin.”

 
I sit down, stunned by the number of people they are talking about. Oh, god, I hope this really
is
just a game. I reach for my glass of nectar. “What are they guilty of?” I ask.

  “
They are guilty of not playing a good Game, Danni,” the Devil says. He shakes his head and actually spits on the floor in disgust. “Most of them have had around 50 years to really get in the Game and play their asses off. Instead they wasted their time.”

 
These three see players being ejected from a game. I know they’re right, but all I can see is 500 million fellow humans being butchered for no good reason.

 
I gulp down the rest of my nectar.

 
It tastes like ashes in my mouth.

Chapter 27

 
“Good morning, viewers. It’s an exciting morning for those of us following Trew as he reintegrates back into normal Tygon life. Of course his life is anything but normal, having retired from the Game in the number one spot, dying during extraction from his last play, and miraculously returning to life five days later. I’m pleased to sit down with him this morning before he starts his day and have a little chat. Remember to tell your friends about this type of event; it’s one of the perks you get when you subscribe to this channel. I have his coffee in my hand, let’s head into the other room and say good morning, shall we?”

  “
Knock, knock, may I come in?”

  “
Of course you may. Good morning, Lisa. Is that coffee for me?”

  “
It certainly is, Trew. There you go.”

  “
Ah, thank you so much.”

  “
My pleasure. So, Trew, I know you’re busy and I’d like to thank you for this quick little meeting before your day starts.”

  “
No problem, Lisa. Your camera crews have been great so far, following me around yet giving me distance and privacy when required. I hope the viewers are getting some interesting perspectives on how Patrons and teams help their players inside the Game?”

  “
Yes, it’s been very educating, Trew.”

  “I’m
glad. Are you excited about the talk I’ll be giving online tonight? I’ll be addressing the whole world!”

  “
Um… this is actually the first I’ve heard of it, Trew.”

  “
Exactly, Lisa. A little exclusive for you and my fans.”

  “
Wow, this is exciting! What time will it be, and is there a specific topic?”

  “
Oh, yes. The time will be one hour after the dinner hour. The topic will be miracles, and why I have been returned from death’s domain to walk among you…”

Excerpt from
“Trew live” channel with host Lisa Rohansen

Miranda Stewart

 
“
Well hello ther
e
, stranger. How are you feeling today?”

 
I blink and look at the man standing in front of me. He’s a handsome man wearing a white lab coat. His smile is broad and genuine. Wait a minute… where the hell am I? Am I looking at him through bars?

  “
Am I in prison?” I ask.

 
He looks at me with a confused expression. “Of course not, Miranda. You’re in a special room for your own protection, but it’s not a prison. We’ve spoken many times and you haven’t asked about this before…”

  ‘Don’t
say another word. Just stand there and smile while you look at him. I was going to say something as soon as I sensed your presence but you snuck past me. Damn you’re quick out of the chute, girl!’

 
Is that a voice coming from inside my head?

 
‘Of course it is! Wow, you’ve really been out of it. It’s taken me a long time to reach down and get you out of whatever deep hole you buried your mind in, Miranda. The man loves to talk, just stand there and smile nicely while he yips and yaps. Try to listen to some of it if you can, but give me as much time as possible to map out your brainwaves. Once he taps your forehead, I lose you again and we

both go deep into some kind of walking fog. Now pay attention! He just asked you a question.
’

  “
Pardon?” I ask out loud.

 
The man is staring at me, a puzzled look on his face. “What’s wrong with you today, Miranda? You don’t seem like your normal self.”

 
I have no clue what I’m supposed to say. With a gun to my head I couldn't tell recount how I got here or how long I’ve been here, and I sure don’t remember ever speaking with this guy before. Sparx has told me to stand here and keep his attention for as long as I can.

 
Wait a minute… I just called the voice in my head ‘Sparx’?

 
Then it slowly dawns on me who Sparx is.

 
‘Come on! You’ve got to focus on him and keep him occupied. If he figures out you’re talking to me we’re in big trouble.’

  “You’re
speaking with it, aren’t you?” he says.

  “
Speaking with what?” I ask. “Mister, you seem like a really pleasant man, but I just got here. If you’ve been talking with me before… well, I think I went insane some time ago, so it’s impossible for me to tell you who you’ve been talking with.”

 
He looks at me for a moment, weighing my words, then throws back his head and begins to laugh.

 
I smile uncomfortably and look around, trying to figure out where I am. It’s a clean little cell, with a bed, toilet, and sink. Against one wall is a desk with a chair and piles of papers, coloured and drawn on. I look down at my hand and see a pencil crayon and guess that the drawings must have been made by me. I have no clue what’s going on here. Behind him I can see a bunch of other cells similar to mine; each one has an inmate. They all look… strange. Like idiot savants, or homeless lunatics.

  “
Oh, right,” I mutter.

 
His laughter trickles to a slow stop and he looks back towards me with interest. “’Oh right,’ what?” he asks.

  ‘Don’t
give him any info, hun.’
Sparx says.
‘I’m not sure what you remember but don’t give him anything. Trust me this guy is a monster. You might not remember what he’s been up to, but I’ve seen it all. He’s one nasty piece of work. Just look at him blankly and don’t say anything too important. He’s like ice in the crack of a rock, he gets in and splits you wide open with just a small amount of leverage.’

  “Okay,”
I answer quietly, not sure if Sparx can hear me or not.

  “
Is it finally awake and functional?” the man asks.

  “What’s
that?” I ask.

  “
The nanocomputer. The little supercomputer, smaller than a blood cell, floating around in your body. Can you communicate with it? How complex is it?”

 
‘Damn.’
I’m not certain if that came from Sparx, me, or both of us at the same time. I try to maintain my confused look. “I don’t think it’s possible to make a nanocomputer, sir.”

 
He looks towards another cell, where a teenage boy sits looking at the screen of a computer. The man looks back at me and sighs. “It looks like we’re experiencing a bit of a backslide. That’s okay, these things happen from time to time. Now I have to decide if it’s a result of inducing too much pain or too little.” He taps his finger against his chin thoughtfully as what he said sinks into my brain.

  “
Look, mister,” I say. “I don’t need to experience pain. If you just let me out of here, I can call my office and get this all straightened out. I appreciate you taking me in, and…” I look around, “helping me while I was out of it. But I’m feeling much better now.”

 
He shakes his head. “I’ve already explained that’s not possible, Miranda. It’s going to be more pain, I think. I’ve been very soft on you for fear of injuring the nanocomputer. I already know it’s inside you, and during our last conversation I thought we were making headway. I’m extremely disappointed to be getting this kind of runaround from you today.” He nods and begins to reach

his hand towards me,
“Yes, I think it’s going to have to be more pain for a time.”

 
I try to take a step backwards, but I can’t. Some invisible force holds me firmly in place. Something deep down tells me I could break the hold, but another part says that I don’t want him to know I have that ability yet.
‘Did you get enough time?’
I ask Sparx. His hand is coming slowly towards me like some dark wand. I can feel the energy in it, and it isn’t good.

 
‘I need about ten more seconds,’
Sparx says.

 
I decide there’s only one way to get those ten seconds, so I blurt out, “It’s not that intelligent!”

 
His hand stops and he smiles. “There, that’s better,” he says. He pulls his hand back from my head and lets it hang at his side. “What do you mean? How ‘not that intelligent’ is it?”

  Okay,
Sparx hasn’t given me any information at all, really, so I just have to make some educated guesses based on what I’ve seen in the past couple of minutes. He knows I’m a nanotech specialist, he knows I have a nano computer inside me, and he has no clue how intelligent it is.

 
‘Correct,’
Sparx confirms.
‘Sorry, Miranda, I’m scrambling as fast as I can to map your brain functions. We get so little time in this state, and you were here only once before. He put you back under before I could get things straight, and it’s taken weeks for you to make another appearance. Your mind and training are doing their best to keep you safe, despite the mission. I’ve got you now, though, hun. When he puts you out, I can recreate your state of consciousness and bring you back out of it when he’s not watching us so closely. Please don’t give him any more info.’

 
I nod mentally and continue to talk. “It can do simple computations,” I say. “I can also instruct it to travel to different locations in the body and perform non-complex activities.”

  “
Fascinating,” he says. “How does it get its instructions? Electrical impulses? Chemical? Hormonal?”

  “All of the above,” I say. “It depends on the command. My body knows how to send the instructions and uses the quickest and best delivery method, depending on the command.”

  “
How long would it take you to instruct me
?
” he asks.

  “
What?” I know what he wants, but I’m not going to be easy on this guy. Let him work for his information.

  “
You will direct it to exit your body and enter mine,” he says. “Once it’s inside me, how long will it take to instruct me on how to control it?”

  “
Oh, no, you don’t seem to understand. It can’t be removed from my body. Each person is slightly unique in chemical makeup, pressures, and so on. If it’s removed from my body, it will be destroyed instantly. Plus there are instructions written into its code to have it self destruct, should it be removed.”

 
He waves his hand dismissively. “Oh, I understand all that. You’ve told me these things before.”

  “
I have?”

  “
Yes, yes. But now that you’re with us and a bit more… on your game, so to speak, I think I must ask you to come up with a way to remove it and put it into me. That’s your homework for the next little while.”

  “
But I can’t do that. I’ve tried to do it in the past and it’s impossible.”

"No,"
he says. “It’s just very difficult. I shall put you back into the Haze and I’m certain that you can come up with the solution in that heightened state.”

  “I’d
like to talk just a bit more, if you don’t mind?” I don’t want to disappear again.

  “
Perhaps later,” he says as his hand shoots forward like lightning to tap me on the forehead.

 
I hear Sparx:
‘Great job, girl, I got you all mapped out. I’ll see you soon when the coast is clear and we will talk.’

 
Then I’m gone.