I left the tower house and went back to where we fought Malworth. It looked less ominous in daylight. Outside the tower house, there was a bustling town bigger than Springfield. There were maybe a dozen blocks of homes densely packed around the fort, and around that were random scattered homes along the roads. A broad river ran through the town from west to east. It was wide enough that the town had a small dock with cargo ships about the size of school buses.

The fight with Malworth was only a few hundred yards from Riverwatch, in front of a farmhouse that looked very much like others scattered across the countryside. There was a fence in front of the house, separating it from the road. I spotted Emma leaning against the fence staring at the two death cubes, the blue and gold boss cube of Malworth, and the red diamond that was Slade’s.

When I approached, she looked up at me, and I saw her puffy eyes. She’d been crying. I didn’t know what to say and didn’t really want to say anything for fear that I might blurt out something mean-spirited. I masked my awkwardness with a hug, and while she was stiff at first, she eventually relaxed into it. We stood there together, leaning against the fence and watching the two cubes slowly spin.

“We can’t even have a funeral,” Emma said.

“I think we can. We just won't have a body to bury.”

“It won’t mean anything without a body,” she replied.

“Honestly, we don’t even know if he’s really dead,” I said.

Emma looked at me as if what I said was sacrilege. She replied, “Why would they lie to us about that?”

“They withheld the truth,” I said. “They didn’t tell us about any of the features of this game. Not even its purpose. Why should we trust anything they say?”

“We have nothing else. If we don’t have faith that this is important, then it’s all for nothing. They wouldn’t do that, just throw people into something that could kill them without having a good reason to do it.” She stood up, no longer content to lean on the fence with me.

“And what reason is that?” I asked.

“The Enneaxi,” she said.

“We don’t even know that.”

“I do.” Emma said with a look on her face that was resolute. I could see that she absolutely believed what she was saying.

“How?” I asked.

“Because I’ve talked to them,” she said. “You know, you felt it when you read the book. All you have to do is listen.”

“I didn’t hear anything,” I said.

“You did,” she insisted. You even asked what I did to you. You felt something. You were moved. Changed. They can speak to you now; you just have to listen.”

There had been something. I hadn’t wanted to read it, yet something compelled me. I’d been forced by an invisible hand to turn the pages and read the passages. And afterward, there had been something impossible to describe. The world had seemed transparent, providing a peek into the machinations beneath it. But this world wasn’t real; it was just a game. It was a peek into the code behind it, which opened doors to errant thoughts.

If the game could feel this real to me, could it alter my thoughts? Slade’s charm, was it real, or had the game enhanced it? Could he have talked me into things I couldn’t resist?

“Did you know about Slade’s charm boon?” I asked, changing the subject.

Emma nodded, “I did. I suggested he take it.”

“Oh, I didn’t realize you were the one to suggest it. Why did you?”

Stolen novel; please report.

“So that you and Max would realize how important the Enneaxi are.”

“You wanted him to brainwash us?”

“No,” Emma said, “Not like that. Just to be more convincing.”

“So yes, brainwashing.”

“No, Victoria, never, just suggestions.”

“If you stab me with a sword here, what do you think happens?” I asked. Emma didn’t look nearly so smug now, confronted with the fact that she had conspired to manipulate us. “If you used a charm skill to do the same, it's just as bad.”

“I didn’t mean to…” Emma stammered as if she’d never quite thought through the moral quandary of using game skills on real people.

“No Emma, you didn’t think. You didn’t think this through at all.” I was pretty hot, and my words were coming on more barbed than I intended. “We’ve got to communicate these things going forward. We’re a person down now, and I still want to go home. You’ve got to start working with us to solve the game so we can leave instead of thinking the game itself is the main thing.”

“But it is the main thing.”

“No, Emma, we signed up to solve a specific thing. I’m only here for that.”

Emma sported her know-it-all look again. She said evenly, “No. I am here for the Enneaxi.”

Before I could say anything, she stormed off. In a way, I was also here for the Enneaxi, but my primary motivation was more personal. To exit the simulation, we had to solve the Enneaxi problem. Emma was acting like it was an actual first contact not just a simulation.

And a little part of me somewhere in the very back of my mind whispered, what if it was a real first contact?

“Operator,” I said to the sky.

“Go for operator,” Kane’s voice replied instantly.

“Why would the participants of this simulation not be told its real parameters?”

“Discovery is a part of The Game.”

“But why not tell players up front what the goal was?”

“There are reasons Miss Prices. I’m not at liberty to discuss them fully,” Kane said.

“Doesn’t that put the players in greater danger?” I asked.

“You are making an assumption without having seen the consequences of the first players.”

“How do you sleep at night?” I asked.

“My duty is to my country Miss Price. I’ve watched my own friends die in that service.”

“You’re not meant to be any help at all are you?”

“Not true. I provide a psychological anchor. I’m here to help as I can, but smarter people than me have set the rules of engagement.”

“Why aren’t they in here?” I asked.

“They were given the same briefings you received; they declined.”

“So, I was stupid to have played your game?”

“Not at all, Miss Price. A lot of money on the table can influence people to do things they normally wouldn’t. We were under the impression that everyone on your team knew the risks.”

“And nobody has made it out?”

“As of yet, no.”

“Am I going to die in here?”

“Victoria!” Emma exclaimed. I glanced around and she was nowhere to be seen, just a voice in my head. “Don’t go down that road. You shouldn’t even say such things.”

“Why not? It's what happened to Slade? Isn't it Kane?”

“He was aware of the risks. He made mistakes.” Kane said.

“Victoria, why are you doing this?” Emma pleaded. “Just stop.”

“I want to hear.” Max chimed in. He was also not present, so just another voice in my head.

“Can you drop me out of this call?” Emma asked.

Kane replied, “I’m afraid not, Miss Padilla. These communications are for the team to coordinate info and ask for help. The team hears the entirety of the conversation.”

“Fucking hell,” Emma cursed.

“What the hell, Emma?” I asked.

“I don’t want to listen to you berate our quest. Especially when dad’s watching,” she said.

“I’m asking legitimate questions here,” I said.

“No, you are trying to find an out, a way home. I’m here to stay. If I have to save the Enneaxi myself I’m doing it.”

“I’m here for you Em… And so is Victoria. We just have different ways of going about it.” Max offered.

This was actually the smartest thing I think any of us said on the conference call. We had obviously been picked and placed in a team together because we each had different outlooks. At least I hoped the military was smart enough to do that. The whole business of our names starting with the same letter made me dubious.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck, fucking, fuck,” Emma rattled. “You do not take this seriously. It's just a game to you.”

“Seriously,” I said in my dryest tone. “This is just getting juvenile.”

“Let her vent,” Max said. “Emma, we’re all coping how we can. We all take this serious.”

“Yeah,” I said, knowing I was about to pour gasoline on the situation. “I seriously want to go home.”

“You see!” Emma screamed out.

After that it was just the three of us yelling at each other. I’d lost all interest in playing adult and was just making cutting remarks in between Emma’s outbursts and Max awkwardly trying to soothe everyone. Kane was silent, until he wasn’t.

“Excuse me. Could I interject?” Kane asked. He took our moment of awkward silence as consent and continued quickly. “There’s another player who has requested to team up. I’ve given them your location and current status.”

“What?” the three of us asked in a triple jinks.

“Yes, another player will be joining you tomorrow. They’ve requested to join your team and help assess any progress made. I believe this would be a good fit for you, given the loss of your current leader, Slade the Slayer.”

I couldn’t see Max or Emma, but everyone was quiet, probably trying like I was to fathom meeting another player.

“Very good. I’ve let Sergeant Eastman know that you’ll be expecting him tomorrow morning.”