Yvvaros: The Clash of Worlds (12 page)

“Have you ever heard of the Simulation Argument, Luke?”

Luke shook his head.

“The Simulation Argument states that one of the following categorical propositions is true.” She opened the book, licking her finger and flipping through it to a specific page. “Ah, here we go. One, either advanced civilizations will never reach a point where they can realistically simulate people in virtual worlds…”

She paused, and smiled.

That’s already happened.

“Or two, advanced civilizations will rarely if ever run sentient, self-aware simulations of people.”

Do NPCs count as self-aware? What about people who’ve gone all in.

“Or, as the last proposition posits, we are almost certainly living in a simulation.”

Luke stared at Dr. Meyers, a little taken aback by the direction that the session had gone in.

“Are you… are you saying that we’re already simulations?” He shook his head. “That would make Yvvaros a digital world, within a digital world…”

“I’m just sharing this with you as food for thought, Luke,” said Dr. Meyers. “Don’t read too deeply into it.

It’s kind of hard not to, when it’s coming from my shrink.

“My point is that the difference between a realistic simulation and our ‘physical’ reality is only a matter of our subjective perspectives. Don’t think of Yvvaros as a place to run away to, Luke. Think of it as part of your life, just as connected to what’s happening in the ‘real world’ as anything else.”

“…Okay.” Luke exhaled and rubbed his hands against the fabric of his jeans. “That’s a very… 21
^st
century way of looking at things, I guess.”

“You came to my office for help, Luke,” said Dr. Meyers. “I could write you a prescription for some antidepressants, if you’d prefer.”

“No…” Luke stood up from the couch. “No thanks. This has been helpful, doctor. Thank you.”

Her words continued to echo in his head as he made his way out of her office.

A single reality…

CHAPTER 12

Every step Luke took on his way home felt weighted down. All he wanted to do was get back to his room and VR headset. He wanted to get back into Yvvaros.

Dr. Meyers is right. She’s right, and that’s why I need to go along with this plan.

Even though it hadn’t been more than two hours since Luke had last been in-game, he felt anxious. The abrupt way that Sam had pulled him out of the game hadn’t left him with a chance to say goodbye properly. He worried about Tess, about her feelings and her safety.

He only took just enough time to shut the front door behind him and kick off his shoes before rushing upstairs. Within a minute, his VR headset was strapped on, and Luke was back in Dunidan’s Rest.

“Hello?” Luke felt panicked. It was midafternoon in game, and the settlement was empty. He rushed over to The Consulate’s guild hall and threw open the door. Nobody was inside.

“Tess? Kaoru?” Luke called out as he hurried toward the gate. “Silverstrike?”

He pushed his way into the dunes of the Sarchia Desert, scanning the horizon with paranoid desperation.

“Luke!”

A female voice came from around the corner of the outside wall. Luke turned and watched as Katrina came into view.

“Hey,” he said. “What’s going on?”

“We’re thought we saw a lone Arbiter scouting around the edge of the zone.” Katrina scratched her head. “What happened to you before? You logged off in midsentence.”

“It’s, uh, a long story,” said Luke. “But I’m back now and I’m good to go.”

The two of them walked off to the west together, climbing the highest dunes to get a better view.

“Why did all of you head out to look?” asked Luke. “You could have just let Silverstrike, or Kaoru check it out.”

“We were being careful,” said Katrina. “Or at least we thought we were…”

Being careful means letting Tess go after an Arbiter?

“Hey.” Kaoru poked his head out from a nearby dune, startling them. “I don’t think it’s around here, we should head back to the compound.”

Silverstrike was following behind him. Seeing only the two of them together heightened Luke’s fear and anxiety.

“Where’s Tess? Was she with you?”

“She should be looping back around,” said Silverstrike. “She’ll be fine, relax.”

Luke couldn’t relax. He stood in place as the others began walking back to Dunidan’s Rest.

“Tess?” It felt a bit ridiculous, but Luke couldn’t stop himself, and he began shouting louder “Tess!”

There was no response, at least not for a moment.

“Aw, you missed me.” Tess was bounding out of a small sand gully and into a stretch of desert flats to the east. “Good to have you back, Kato.”

Luke breathed a sigh of relief.

“Yeah, sorry about before.” He shook his head and grabbed onto her shoulder as she stepped in close to him. “What are you thinking, though? It’s not safe for you to go after an Arbiter.”

“Luke, relax,” she said. “I’m the highest level player of everyone in The Consulate or Athena’s Wrath. I’m not going to get myself killed.”

A memory came rushing back into Luke’s mind, unbidden and unwelcome. Tess, or rather, Emily’s body was on the floor of her room. Her VR headset was still over her eyes, and her skin was pale white, only marred by the blood pooling underneath it.

“Tess…” He closed his eyes.

“Luke, it’s okay,” she said. “I’m fine.”

An even older memory, piggybacking on top of the first one, pushed its way into his thoughts. Luke remembered the car crash that had taken his mother. He’d been pestering her about buying him a video game, distracting her from the road without meaning to.

The car that struck them had been driving way above the speed limit. The crash was over before anyone knew what had happened. The crunching sounds of the metal, the tearing of the driver’s side door, and especially what his mother had said to him were forever burned into his mind.

“Luke, it’s okay,” she’d said. “I’m fine.”

What the hell am I doing?

“Hey, Luke…” Tess was against him, cupping his cheek with one hand. “It’s okay…”

“Sorry.” Luke forced a smile and pulled her into a hug, reassuring himself that she was still there. “Come on… let’s go catch up with the others.”

I’m not going to let it happen again.

Luke could tell that something was wrong before they’d even gotten completely through the gates. Katrina was on her knees in the courtyard, and a body was lying in front of her, not far from the oasis. Kaoru and Silverstrike both had their weapons drawn.

“Oh my god…” said Tess. “That’s Anna!”

The two of them rushed over. Luke realized that he’d balled his hands tightly into fists, unconsciously digging his virtual fingernails into his virtual hands.

“I let her come out with us to look for the Arbiter. It’s my fault.” Kaoru’s eyes were full of remorse. “We found her body a little way outside the compound, half covered with sand.”

“She went all in!” Katrina was almost too distraught to be intelligible. “I… She asked me if I thought it was a good idea.”

“Hey, hey,” said Silverstrike, hurrying to her side. “This isn’t anyone’s fault but the-”

“I said yes!” Katrina sobbed and slapped the ground with an open hand. “I told her that she should do it if she really wanted to.”

Luke felt his emotions shift as he watched the scene. Numbness turned to frustration, and then to anger, and then to rage.

“This is why we have to stop them!” He yelled the words, followed by a string of obscenities. “God fucking damn it!”

“I’ve seen this happen too many times now,” said Kaoru. “The Arbiters haven’t been in control long, but this is what they do.”

“Why…?” Katrina wiped away tears with a dirty, sand covered hand. “They usually take players that have gone all in alive… Why her?”

“I don’t know.” Kaoru frowned and looked back toward the gate.

“We can’t let this go on.” Luke walked over toward Anna’s body, forcing himself to stare into her lifeless eyes. “We’re leaving immediately. I have to get started.”

“Don’t let your grief and anger affect your judgement.” Kaoru set a hand on Luke’s shoulder and turned him to meet his gaze. “It’s fine if you leave immediately, but you need to think clearly, and act carefully.”

Luke nodded, and then looked over at Tess. She was still watching Katrina and Anna, but when she felt his eyes on her, she turned back and dipped her head, acknowledging his pain.

“Katrina…” Luke crouched next to the fellow guild leader. “I’m sorry that this happened. We’re going to put a stop to it.”

Katrina didn’t say anything.

“Don’t get yourself killed, Kato.” Silverstrike nodded to his sister. “And don’t get Tess killed either.”

“The same goes for you, Silverstrike,” said Luke. “And I’ll keep Emily safe.”

Silverstrike frowned slightly at the use of his sister’s real life name.

I don’t have time to play family counselor right now.

“Kato, there’s one thing you should keep in mind going forward.” Karou leaned in close so that their conversation was quiet enough to keep from disturbing Katrina’s mourning.

“What is it?”

“Each of the Elemental Wells has a major quest associated with it,” he said. “You’re going to have to pay attention and stay focused to get through each one of them.”

“I’ll manage,” said Luke.

Tess set a hand on his shoulder. “We’ll manage.”

“Good,” said Kaoru. “I’ll help Silverstrike with the guild alliances before going undercover. Keep us updated on your timetable with private messages. I’m not sure how long this is all going to take.”

Luke nodded.

“And one last thing.” Kaoru took a deep breath, and extended his hand. “Thank you. I’ve only known you for a short time, and I’m sure you’ll brush this off as a baseless compliment, but you live up to image of the Hero of Kantor.”

Luke wanted to correct him, to tell him that it was just a stupid nickname, and that he was just a normal player. But he didn’t.

“Thanks.” He turned to Tess. “Are we all set on food?”

Tess nodded.

“Then let’s get moving,” he said. “We have no time to waste.”

CHAPTER 13

Anna is dead. She’s never coming back.

It was hard for Luke to accept it. His anger had slowly subsided once he and Tess had started off, but in its place he felt a combination of guilt and responsibility that weighed down his every step.

The two of them were headed for Shahidi’s Vengeance, which meant that they would first have to go through the Msitu Wilds. Luke’s experience in these lands was limited to a single quest he’d gone on before the Battle of Kantor.

The sight of the jungle looming at the edge of the desert reminded him of the strange monsters he had encountered. Luke again thought of Tess and worried.

“We could end up stuck in the jungle overnight…” Tess’s voice was quiet. “I brought a small tent just in case…”

“Right.” Luke sighed.

“Luke, you don’t have to worry about me,” she said. “I know you’re going to anyway. But you don’t have to. I’m 7 levels higher than you.”

“Yeah, I know,” said Luke.

What level was Anna? Does it even matter when we’re fighting Arbiters?

The landscape rose into a high sandy cliff face on the border of the Sarchia Desert and the Msitu Wilds. Luke slowed to a stop in front of it.

“Looks like we have to climb.”

The sand made the task much more difficult than he’d been expecting. He had Tess go first, and she leaned over in front of him on all fours, clawing more than climbing as she made her way up.

“Hey, careful,” said Luke. “You’re kicking sand into my face.”

“You’re the one who wanted me to go first!” Tess shifted and her foot hold crumbled. 

“Whoops!”

Tess fell backward, directly into him. Luke blushed as she collided with him and his hands made contact with her breasts in his clumsy attempt to stop her from falling. They tumbled for a moment before he was able to stop the momentum down the sandy cliff.

“Nice going.” He gently nudged Tess in the shoulder. She reached over and poked him in the ribs.

“I’m sorry! This cliff is really steep!” She rolled her eyes and then pulled her staff off her back. “Let’s try a new tactic.”

Tess glowed blue for a moment, and then bright white light washed over the both of them.

“Haste,” she said. “We should be able to run it if we get a decent start.”

She took Luke’s hand into hers, and the two of them charged up the cliff. The sand flew behind them as they sped back the steep incline. As they reached the crest gravity pulled back on them threatening to stop their momentum. They had just enough speed to make it over the edge.

The top of the sandy cliff gave way to a grassy knoll lightly adorned with various shrubs and bushes covered with an assortment of fruits and berries. Luke turned back in the direction they’d come from and caught his breath.

“Wow,” said Luke. “I never realized that there was such an elevation shift between the desert and jungle.”

The Sarchia Desert covered the majority of the south eastern part of the continent. Luke could see Dunidan’s Rest in the distance, a miniscule, walled settlement on the horizon. A couple of other zones in the desert had guild halls, but none of them were as developed as The Consulate’s base.

“It’s beautiful,” said Luke.

“This is where we live,” said Tess. She reached over and ran her hand through his hair and smiled. “Hey, I brought some of the vegetables that I’ve been growing on the farm with us. Do you want to stop for an early dinner?”

“Sure.” Luke saw that his stamina bar had been greatly depleted by the sand cliff.

Tess smiled and began pulling food out of her pack. Luke took a seat on the grass beside her and wiped his hands on his armor, hungrily eyeing her offerings.

“The Msitu Wilds are full of edible plants and herbs,” said Tess as they ate. “Look, there are Lenberries growing right here. And that’s Jessbark on the trees.”