Continue Online (Book 1, Memories) (8 page)

“
He
said the same thing actually.” My niece laughed happily.

“
The
backward thinking part?”

“
No,
the shotgun.” There was a pause and Beth tilted her head. “Do
you really have a shotgun?”

“
Not
telling.” I smiled down at her. Then frowned, and went through
other faces.

“
I’m
not a baby anymore.”

“
You’re
still smiling, though,” I said.

“
Did
you really come by to visit me?” She almost sounded timid. Beth
wasn’t that sort. She took after her mother, attitude a mile
long and a fist trailing behind that.

“
Yep.”

“
Because
of the ARC?” She tilted her head.

“
Yep!”

“
But
you paid for mine, and you know more about them than I do, isn’t
that your job?” The company discount helped me afford a
personal ARC for Beth. I helped my father by chipping in on the
college fund. The deal was that grades came first. Beth was taking
advantage of the ARC’s time dilation to study.

“
I
don’t actually use mine for much besides a few programs,”
I admitted.

“
Why
not? There’s so much you can do with them.”

“
I
just-” haven’t felt the need or desire? Haven’t
felt right playing games in general? Felt like I was tainting a
promise made years ago? “I recently won something from work.
And it got me thinking.”

“
What
did you win?” She asked.

“
I’m
not sure yet, it’s on my home ARC, but I think it’s a
copy of Continue Online.” My eyebrows lifted and I gave a
partial shrug.

“
Oh
my god, Uncle, really? Are you finally going to play?” Beth was
nearly hopping around the room now.

“
If
that’s what the prize is, sure. You know I’d never buy it
for myself.”

“
Mom
said the same thing. We were going to get you a copy for Christmas
this year.” Christmas wasn’t too far away. It would have
been a perfect present.

“
Is
it really that good?” I asked.

My
niece blubbered with her words for a moment before righting herself.

“
Yes.”
She managed to get a single word out before laughter overtook her.
“You’ve never seen it in person?”

“
No.
Only the online ads and a few reviews.” All my knowledge of the
game came from working on peoples ARCs and the few videos I had
watched in the van.

“
Do
you have one of those Second Player helms?” Beth ran over and
looked up at me. She took after her father in terms of height. He'd
been on the short side.

“
I
do, I think. Hal normally makes sure we have at least one.” I
said.

“
Get
it, and meet me downstairs.”

“
If
you say so, munchkin.” My niece was so excited that the
nickname went by unremarked. I went out to the van and slid open the
back. Hal Pal was on standby, but I could see the light signaling
mild awareness.

“
Hal,
be a Pal and check out one VRH Two for temporary personal use.”
I felt clever for using the old commercial jingle from when Hal Pal's
were first released.

Hal
Pal blinked then reached out one arm to undo security locks on our
panel of parts and plugins. Out came a full helmet that used to only
be found on motorcycle riders. A burnished red color line ran
vertically as mild decoration.

“
Yes,
User Legate. Please remember to file a feedback form upon return.”
Hal Pal carefully handed over the device. Trillium and The ARC
Project both demanded feedback forms when employees used new
equipment.

I
took the VRH Two and braced myself for the deceptive weight. The
thing was heavy as a bowling ball but once on and logged in it would
be strangely comfortable. The other reviewers stated there was no
neck pain.

I
had only used it once. And that was a job to fix one person’s
program. It was also one of the most awkward things my job had ever
subjected me to. The client's program hadn’t worked right, but
it was only in a specific spot, with a specific, ugh, movement.
Turned out the program hadn’t been intended to bend that way.
Part of me was convinced the guy got off on getting me to ride along.

I
tried not to shudder at the memory and trudged inside. My footsteps
would drown out any other noises in the house. Soundproofing had
become nearly standard for most modern houses. This one was from the
late eighties and probably missed some of the neater materials on the
market.

“
It’s
okay, Uncle Grant. You can’t hear anything from here.”
Beth was already sitting on the edge of her ARC. Her feet almost
didn't touch the floor.

“
I’m
sure that’s why she gave you the far bedroom.”

“
Only
a few more years and I’ll be done with college, then I can move
out.” Beth shrugged and tried to sound positive. I remembered
moving out myself. It involved a lot of drinking and roommates who
were questionable on a good day.

Good
times.

“
So
how are we doing this?” I rolled the Second Player helm around
and tried to remember how it was used. There, a plug to go into one
of the ARC's ports. From there we would have a wireless connection.

“
I’ll
dive into the game, you can watch as a secondary,” She said.

“
I
thought they were trying to be secretive about this stuff.” My
brow crinkled in confusion.

“
On
some things the game's super tight-lipped, but even Trillium can’t
stop word of mouth and someone watching it directly. I mean they
could…” She looked thoughtful for a moment. “I
guess they don’t care that much?”

“
Well
lucky me, I can see it and debate if I’m ever going to actually
play.” I tried not to commit too much.

“
You
better play, Uncle Grant!”

“
Alright,
alright. I don’t even know if what I won from work is actually
this game. Let’s see it.” I said.

Beth
smiled and laid down in the ARC. She had wristbands on either arm and
one around each ankle. The key one was a band that went along the top
part of her spine. It was kept close to the spinal column and could
read nearly every signal that went down.

“
You’re
using those?” I pointed to her ankles.

“
The
wrist and feet?” She raised an eyebrow in confusion.

“
Yeah.”
I hadn’t played a game that required them. “I’ve
seen them for those exercise programs.”

“
Part
of the program. Gives you some feedback. If you do something that
exerts a lot in the game, you’ll feel it in real life.”
Beth smiled happily.

“
Why
on earth would you want that?” Bodily exercise while playing a
game sounded painful.

“
Uncle
Grant, I’m not this fit because I go to a gym all day.”
She responded.

I
thought about it while Beth laid back and dialed in her machine. VRH
Two, also known as a Second Player helm, plugged right into the
middle panel on the ARC device. Slumping against Beth’s ARC
would be slightly more comfortable than the floor. I slipped the
Second Player helm over my head and tried not to think about the
pudge that had built around my stomach. Maybe if I invested in a
better dance program this waistline would have lost a few inches.

That
actually sounded kind of attractive. Play a game, dance a little,
work out in the process. I would need to dial my real life activities
back. Working a job like mine for so many hours would be rough if I
was sore the entire day. Only Hal Pal’s constant heavy lifting
would make this diabolical plot work.

The
Second Player helm wasn’t as good as a full immersion. Most of
it was visual with a ghost of tactile sensation. Smells and taste
were equally hard to replicate with only the headset technology.
There was a reason the Alternate Reality Capsule required five
hundred pounds of hardware. Comfort was only about twenty percent.

“
Log
me in.” Beth preferred the vocal command to the physical
interface I used.

My
visor went black and moments later Beth’s Atrium came into
view. Everything she saw, I saw. It wasn’t like being myself in
a game. This was me piggybacking on another person’s feed while
still having my own mind.

“
Load
Continue Character, delayed intro, five,” She said.

“
Commands
loaded.” The ARC program responded. I was thrown off by the
voice used for her ARC. Deep tones, reminded me of someone from my
childhood who used to do movies. The name was hard to place.

It
wasn’t too surprising when Beth's eyes flicked over to a wall
of posters with men on them or when she paused and looked in the
mirror. Her character didn’t look too different. Ears were
slightly pointy belying an elf or something similarly fantastic.

“
Huh,”
I said.

“
Everything
coming through okay, Uncle Grant?” She asked.

“
Yeah.
Are you an elf?”

“
No,
demon, half demon, I think, technically. I was transformed from human
to this after a long chain quest and reputation grinding.” She
gave me an answer longer than expected.

“
Weird,”
I said. A half demon race of some sort might explain the very faint
sunburn that lined her characters skin. Beth, as a child, was an
outdoorsy type. Though when I saw her at the door a few minutes ago
it was pretty clear her tan had lapsed a lot.

“
What
do you think?” She waved her arms around and did a few basic
stretches.

I
was stuck staring at the mirror watching her. It was really awkward
staring at my niece for so long. She scanned up and down the clothes.
The top was fairly loose and flowing. The pants were almost cutoffs.
I could see leather pads over her knees, shoulders, and elbows.
Nothing here restricted her range of motion.

“
Okay,
that’s enough,” I said as she started another round of
awkward warm ups while staring at herself.

“
Oh
shit. Sorry.” Beth laughed. “Habit. Stretching helps me
move easier once in the game.”

“
Alright.
I get that.” Like a baseball player doing practice swings to
loosen their shoulders.