Howl: A World at War Novel (12 page)

The Wraith fixed him with an icy glare. “Shut up, Ben.” He turned back to Zach and drew his pistol. “Well then, I guess there's no use for you again.”

“This is going to be a recurring habit, isn't it?” Zach said wearily.

You are KIA
.

CHAPTER 11

On Wings of Eagles

The hard fight was still on their minds the next day when they met for another interview session.

“
Man that was rough,” Javy said. “How many people did we end up losing?”

“
How many people lived through that would be a better question,” Zach said. “We got wiped out pretty badly. I think Karen's squad was the only one that didn't lose anyone, and Liz's platoon was the only other unit that got away.”

He was glad that he had insisted on so many preparations before the attack. Without them it was likely the Valkyries would have taken the schematic off their corpses.

“That means Karen and Nora were the only officers from our company that lived through that,” Gavin said.

“
Where were you at?” Selene asked Miko.

“
I was covering the landing zone and went with them when they fell back,” Miko said. “Sorry I couldn't give you guys any help.”

Danny shook his head. “Not that it was going to help, anyhow. They knew what they were doing, and they were good.”

“They're pretty trigger-happy with their RPGs, I noticed,” Gavin said. “They tried to use them on us any time they ran into tough resistance.”

“
Yeah, I noticed,” Danny said.

“
I think we all noticed,” Xavier said. “They're pretty aggressive as well, and they know how to hug cover. They're going to be tough.”

“
I also noticed that they got into close range with us as soon as they could,” Zach said. “That ruined our chances of using air and artillery support.”

“
Someone's been reading military history,” Xavier commented. “I think I remember the Russians doing something similar during the Battle of Stalingrad.”

“
I think the Vietnamese did it too,” Nora said. “If I remember my history classes correctly.”

“
They rushed us and got into close combat,” Selene said. “I think that caught us off guard. They're a lot better at fighting in close quarters than we are.”

“
It's not like we had to do a lot of it,” Zach said. “The only time's I've seen it used is when we've done stealth kills. Ranged weapons just seem like they're a whole lot more efficient.”

“
Well, we might need to learn,” Nora said. “We're going to have a lot of close quarters fighting in the city.”

“
But the NPCs we've run into haven't done any melee combat,” Javy said.

“
Yet,” Nora pointed out.

Javy frowned. “OK, that's true.”

“Any clue what the schematic is?” Xavier asked.

“
Last time I knew they were decoding the thing,” Zach told him. “The only thing that we know is that it's pretty high level.”

They looked up as the door opened and Dr. Unger entered the room. “Good morning, everyone,” he said as he took his seat. “We'll get started. It looks like you were all involved in a major battle yesterday. We noticed that the majority of your troops were killed in the ensuing battle. What's the situation with your group's morale after such a hard loss?”

“Well, we did get a schematic out of it,” Selene said. “I think I would count that as a victory.”

“
I would too, since that was our real objective,” Miko added. “That's why I spent my time protecting the extraction zone instead of joining the battle. The schematic took precedence.”

Dr. Unger nodded. “Yes, that's understandable. But your fight was against another organization that will be your enemy in the future. Sustaining such horrible losses against them should have some negative effect on morale.”

Zach thought about it for a moment. “I think it might have an opposite effect, actually,” he finally said. “Everyone I talked to thought it was a tough loss, but they also thought it was a good battle. For them it was fun, and I'd have to agree with that.”

“
I'd agree with that as well,” Xavier said.

“
Me too,” Danny said. “It was a challenge. Winning is great and all, but sometimes you just need to test yourself, you know?”

“
I think that proves that even though it feels so real, we all still realize it's a game,” Nora said. “Games get really boring when they're easy.”

“
But then again, players don't like dying,” Dr. Unger said. “How much frustration are they really willing to take?”

“
I think that's part of the appeal of it all,” Danny said. “If death in the game is just a slap on the wrist then you'll be willing to take insane risks. I wouldn't even call them risks, actually, if there's no penalty. The way it is now we have the freedom to do things we wouldn't dare in the real world, but there's a gambling element to them as well.”

Zach nodded. “I think that's what makes the world come alive. It's a form of escapism and gambling rolled into a single package. We bet the time we spend in the game every time we fight, and if we lose then we have to spend more time making it up.”

Dr. Unger nodded. “That would lead to the observation that several types of disorders could develop from this. Addiction, for example.”

“
Wouldn't that be most likely to happen to people who are already predisposed to addictions?” Miko said.

“
That's definitely possible,” Dr. Unger said. “There's other things that people may believe the virtual world is capable of influencing. Levels of aggression, for instance.”

“
Isn't that going back to the old played-out argument that video games make people violent?” Gavin asked. “Hasn't that line of thought been debunked?”

“
In general yes, though there are always fringe elements. There is some concern that a virtual reality game could be substantially different from regular video game, though. The extra level of reality makes people concerned that they could be far more influential on a psychological level.”

“
That... that really doesn't make sense,” Danny said. “If that's true, then shouldn't the fact that I played football mean I'm more likely to randomly tackle someone on the street?”

Selene tried to stifle a laugh. “Now that I'd like to see.”

Danny continued. “I think normal people can tell the difference between different situations. Like, tackling is permitted in a football because it happens within the confines of a game. Certain rules have to be followed, and the tackling stays within the scope of the game and doesn't go outside. That's what I think is happening with virtual world stuff. People understand that the things they do are confined to the game world.”

“
To take that analogy further, why aren't soldiers separated out from normal society?” Xavier pointed out. “If the conditioning that video games put out is so harmful, then why aren't people who are actually trained for killing allowed to be around normal people?”

“
A good point,” Dr. Unger said. “And I think that's a good perspective to have on the issue. Now, let's move on...”

“So, what did everyone think about that conversation?” Danny asked as they were eating lunch. They had decided to get Japanese today.

“
The one about the virtual world influencing our brains?” Miko asked.

“
Yeah, that one.”

“
Well, I think we already knew about that somewhat,” Nora said. “I mean, look at how much Miko, Gavin and Zach improved in our basketball games. Most of that was their reflexes getting better.”

“
That's true. They're still terrible shots. Especially Gavin and Zach,” Javy laughed.

“
Wow, you're brutal,” Zach said in jest. He was well aware of his limitations on the court.

“
That's where it's changing us neurologically. But is it changing us psychologically?” Danny asked. “My first inclination would be to say no, but something in the back of my mind says it still could be possible, since the filter between the game world and and the virtual world is gone.”

“
We've been playing at lot, and we seem to be just fine,” Javy said.

Zach thought about the question. Like Danny, he was on the fence about it. To him Javy's point was correct; they had probably spent the most time in the game world out of anyone, and they were suffering no ill effects. But then again, they were all well-adjusted people with lives outside of the game world. While World at War was a wondrous thing, it wasn't the only thing. There were other things to be enjoyed in the real world.

But a person who had completely immersed themselves in the game world could be molded psychologically by the situations happening around them. That was where the worries should be focused.

It was like the situations that he and Nora discussed. To her, the virtual world only had meaning once people were a part of it. As she put it, they gave the game a soul. Zach had agreed with that, but had taken it a step further. To him, people didn't exist in the game world; their avatars did. No matter how realistic it felt, the thing inside the game was an avatar, not their true self. It was simply a projection of the person on the outside into the game world, and that was where their soul was channeled through, so to speak.

But there might be the danger of being swallowed by one's avatar. If it became the focus of the person on the outside then it was possible they would concentrate on it to the exclusion of all else. If that happened, then the avatar in the game world was no more than an NPC. It would have lost its link to the outside world and would have no soul.

At least that's what he thought. It might become a problem in the future, but that was an issue for medical professionals to deal with. Right now his role was to provide data for observation, nothing more.

Zach looked down at the message on his phone from Yusuf.
Come find me at the Forge
, it read. Zach grabbed his neuro-helmet off the shelf and put it on. He sat down in his chair, pulled down the visor and activated the device.

Black Wolf headquarters was abuzz with activity, since they were still reorganizing after the battle yesterday. In light of what the Valkyries were capable of he wanted to make sure that his troops were prepared to fight. Selene's southern platoons were equipping themselves before they headed back down to do the reconnaissance work they were originally slated for.

Nora materialized beside him. “Did you get the message from Yusuf as well?” she asked.

“
Yeah. I was going to head over there now.”

They passed by Selene and her officers who were going over something. Danny and his group were rooting through the armory, looking to replace the weapons they had lost in the fight yesterday. At least they had plenty of them to spare thanks to Hephaestus.

The streets of the bastion were busy as well. Mules and ATVs rumbled down the main routes while troops on foot went about their business. He had heard that the main forces were planning on launching a raid on Fort Odin to further distract Ragnarok. He hoped that they were taking the proper precautions. Zach had warned them about their encounter with the Valkyries, but he wasn't sure if they would show up, or how effective they would be against Hydra's more heavily armed troops. All the same, it was uncanny how one unit could force them to alter strategy.

“
Still thinking about yesterday?” Nora asked from beside him.

“
Yeah,” he admitted.

“
Keep in mind that as much as they're forcing us to switch strategies, we're doing the same to them,” she said. “We should keep up the raids. They're using their most elite unit to fight us, which means that they're not being used against anyone else. That might give Ronin or our main forces the time to strengthen themselves.”

“
That's actually really good strategy,” Zach said. “You seem to be picking up more and more as we go.”

“
Still not totally confident in my ability to run a full battle if I have to,” Nora said. “I know what to do and how to do it, but I'm still not sold on my ability to get the job done right now. I'll just have to hope that Anna doesn't get herself killed.”

“
I think you're fine at it, to be honest,” Zach said.

“
Remember the battle for this place? You put Liz in command when you went up to the front lines.”

Zach frowned. “Did you feel slighted by that? I'm sorry for doing that if you were.”

Nora shook her head. “No, I think you made the right decision. But part of me didn't want to get passed over again, and that made me want to learn more so I can be better.”

“
Is that why you have such a weird reading list?” Zach asked. He had seen several books on military history at her apartment. “Great, I accidentally gave my girlfriend a complex by passing over her for command in a video game.”