Chapter Thirty Eight: Your Head Gets Dumb
November 6, 2010
Salt Lake City, UT
Once again, I.S.K. Staff flooded the banquet hall. A few were tidying up the space, gathering up trash and leftover food, while another crew was busy placing strange devices on each table.
As one staffer placed the object on their table, Marc and the team examined it. It was a black box, roughly the size of a dinner plate, with no markings, but a large red button on the top.
A loud horn blared from across the room, and laughter could be heard echoing from several directions.
“Alright, yes, I see you figured out how the buzzers work. For the next event, we have something quite special planned. Before we can begin, however, I’m going to need you all to get organized into teams. Each team must be four to five people. If you are short or need a team, please grab a member of the I.S.K. staff, and they will help facilitate. Don’t worry. These teams will just be for this event. So feel free to use this as an opportunity to make some new friends!” Ann had raised the volume on the speaker, so she drowned out the conversations and noise in the hall.
A tall, thin man with black hair, wearing a bright red suit jacket over his I.S.K. T-shirt walked over and took the microphone from Ann.
As soon as the commotion and shuffling subsided, the room quieted down. The tables were now more balanced, with four to five people sitting at each. Most seemed to have been formed organically, but a few were obviously shotgun weddings.
“Good morning everyone! My name is Tim Lau. I’m on the writing team for Pl@y3r… Oops! Wow, change is rough! Again, then, I’m a writer on Awakening. I bet most of you didn’t even know that the game had writers.”
Tim was charismatic and had a fun, casual demeanor that took some of the edge off of the tension that had permeated the event so far.
“We writers prepare all the introductions, flavor text, weapon descriptions, all that stuff. If it weren’t for us, you’d have the play the game with a set of IKEA instructions.”
He paused for a few seconds, but only got him a couple of pity laughs.
“The higher-ups drafted me… I mean, invited me to lead the activity this morning to highlight the value writers bring to any creative endeavor. In other words, If this doesn’t go well, I’m getting a pay cut.”
He got a few more laughs this time. Marc even found it helpful to relieve his own tension to focus on this strange man’s monologue.
“So, to accomplish this goal, I thought, what better way to make friends and show off in front of a room filled with hundreds of strangers than my favorite pastime? Beer trivia!”
Marc looked around the room. Luckily, there were others who seemed as clueless as he was. Ryan, on the other hand, seemed excited and had grabbed the box.
“Unfortunately… Ann said no beer allowed.”
There was a wave of laughter, boos, and catcalls at this admission.
“Regardless, if I can’t gain your respect with alcohol, I’m going to have to resort to more traditional methods. Namely, bribery? Is that cool, Ann?”
In what was an obviously heavily scripted segment, Ann gave Tim a skeptical look, then shrugged her shoulders theatrically.
“Awesome! Just don’t tell Mary how much I spent on this.”
That admission got the attention of a few people in the room. Marc could hear some whispered conversations.
“What’s bar trivia?” He leaned over to ask Ryan.
“Seriously? You never… Look who I‘m talking to. Never mind.”
“What’s that supposed-“
“Anyway, It’s simple. They ask questions. If you know the answer, hit the buzzer. Guess correctly, get points, answer wrong, lose points. The team with the most points at the end of the night wins the glory and prizes.”
“Like a game show.”
“Yeah, just not as lame. Geez.”
As they had been talking, Tim had already explained those same rules.
“Trust me, the prizes are incredible, like… unbelievable! You’re gonna want to do well here. All the questions come from the game, or the website and official information. Feel free to try to look it up on your phones, but remember, the first team to hit the buzzer gets the first crack.”
Marc understood perfectly. They wanted to reward those players who had been digging deep into the details of the game. Give something back to the active members who understood the background of the game. If that was the case, he might have a small advantage. This might even be fun.
“We’ll start off easy, but the questions, and the points will= level up as we go along. Everyone ready to go?”
Cheers and applause boomed throughout the hall.
“All right! Let’s start off with an easy one then. First question: What element is the Dire Wolf weakest against.”
“Air!” Someone shouted.
From another table, a loud horn buzzed.
Tim pointed out to a table where the red button on the box was glowing red.
“Correct! Remember to hit that buzzer. Only the first one hit each time lights up. That’s a point to, what’s your team name?”
“Deathtöngue,” the team answered after a moment of discussion.
There were some snickers and groans from around the room.
“Uhhh, Okay. A point to Team… Deathtöngue.”
Tim gave a signal, and the red button went dark again.
“Not bad for a warmup question. Let’s go ahead and start going for real, then. Question: How large are the horns of a fully grown Vorpal Rabbit?”
Marc reached over this time to hit the buzzer before anyone else could react.
“Between 15 and 25cm”
“Umm. Metrics huh? Wait a second… That is correct!”’
Tim had looked over to a few other staffers standing beside Ann.
“We would have also accepted six to ten inches. Do me a favor and keep the math to a minimum. I was a sociology major, after all. That’s a point to…”
“Rocinante!” Ryan blurted out.
“Team Rocinante!”
They all stared at Ryan, who had a sheepish look.
“What the heck is a Rocinante?” Leeroy whispered.
Marc shook his head. “He’s been after me to name my bike that since I got it up and running.”
“Got ‘her’ up and running, you mean. Man, you have no sense of drama and romance!”
“You say that like it’s a bad thing,” Selina growled.
“What do you call the bike then?” Leeroy asked.
“Uh. My bike? Motorcycle?”
“Okay, I guess Ryan has a point.
Tim was already reading out the next question.
“What is the weakest point of a Grumi bear?”
Marc nodded to Ryan, who hit the buzzer.
“The eyes,” Marc yelled out when their button lit up.
“Correct! Another point to team Rocinante! Don’t worry, there are plenty of questions. As you can see, it pays to read all the materials. Probably more than it does to write them.”
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There were more groans and some pity laughter, but Marc feel the competitive spirit was rising in the audience. He noticed a few tables pointing at them and some giving him intense looks.
“Damn! You are on fire! How do you remember all that stuff? I haven’t even looked at most of those lore pages,” Leeroy said with admiration in his eyes.
“How much of it have you read?” Selina asked.
“Uh, all of it? It was interesting, you know?” Marc embellished a bit. He had scanned through the documents online, but only to confirm that everything aligned with his own memories. And it had. Entirely. He might feel guilty using that knowledge to win a contest, but it seemed unfair that Tim and the other writers were actually taking credit for knowledge that Marc knew came from somewhere else. How they got it, however, was a mystery the Marc very much wanted the answer to.
“The next question will be worth double points! Listen carefully. How many segments does an adult
Sledgeworm have, and-“
Ryan hit the buzzer without even waiting for Marc this time.
“987 for males, and 1,597 for females.”
“That would be correct, but unfortunately, you hit the buzzer before I finished the question. If you cannot answer the second part, the next team that can answer it will get both points. The rest of the question is, and how many legs do they have per segment?”
“Four legs per segment, except for the queen whose abdomen has 21 appendages.”
“That is… correct! Holy shit. I mean. That’s amazing! Another 2 points to Rocinante.”
Ryan was ecstatic. He held the buzzer in his arms and focused on hitting the button as soon as the questions were read. Selina and Leeroy just sat and stared in admiration, shouting support and giving each other high-fives.
After a few more questions, Marc realized their table was getting death stares from practically every other group in the room. He signaled Ryan to slow it down a bit with the buzzer.
They started to answer fewer questions, giving other teams the chance to hit the buzzer. Still, they ended up winning more than half of the remaining questions. Of course, Marc did not answer a single question incorrectly. By the end, they had accumulated more points than every other team combined.
“Well, that was… surprising. I think the question-writing intern is going to get quite the scolding… I mean feedback session tonight. You have all shocked and amazed our judges with your mastery of the lore of Awakening, especially Team Rocinante! Come on up here and get your prize!”
The group made their way up over to Tim, carefully avoiding returning the acid-filled glares bearing down on them from every corner of the room.
“So, tell me, how could you possibly keep all that lore in your head? Even I can’t remember all that,” Tim admitted with admiration.
“I have a good memory,” Marc answered quietly.
“You… good memory… right. Yes, Thank you! That’s the first place Team Rocinante with over a hundred points!”
“For getting top spot, your team will receive five sets of vouchers for use in any major hotel, valued at one thousand dollars each! In addition to that, you will also get five sets of airline travel vouchers. The total value of first prize is ten thousand dollars! Well deserved for an amazing showing!”
The room erupted in noise as talking broke outat every table. The prizes were indeed generous. Ten grand to first place was unbelievable. Many eyes glared even more icy looks toward Marc’s team, who were now trying to slink back to their table as stealthily as possible.
“Now, that’s not all! We also have prizes for the second and third-place teams. Come on up, Team Denpa Shonen and Team DeathTöngue!”
Tim handed over smaller, but still impressive prizes to the other two teams; one was a group from Japan, and the other, was some college kids from the East Coast.
“That’s all for the Bar Trivia, but don’t worry, we are just getting started! There are more events and contests, and even bigger prizes await! After lunch, we’re going to be testing your battle skills. How does that sound?”
The promise of more contests and better prizes brought the focus back, and mercifully gave Marc and Team Rocinante a bit of respite from the envious crowd.
Ann took over the microphone.
“Thank you, Tim! Excellent job. We’ll discuss the quality of your questions at your next review. Rest assured everyone, we have much more excitement in store. This weekend is our way of saying thanks to all of you, as much as celebrating the exciting new future ofr Awakening and I.S.K.”
She led the room in a round of applause for Tim and the three finalist teams, then explained the schedule for the rest of the weekend.
“If you check the event app, you should see that it is now updated with additional information, as well as new options. Remember, this app is your identification and guide for the rest of the weekend.”
Marc pulled out his white iPhone and opened the app. Indeed, it now had a new main screen with options SCHEDULE, MAP, GAME, and FRIENDS. It also had a button to open up a screen that was already registered with his information, including his username, level, and a section for achievements.
While the game had acheivements, he had never paid much attention to it in the game before. Under that header, there was a single trophy-shaped badge. When he touched it, a popup appeared.
[Bar Trivia Champion]
Marc showed this to the others, and they all checked their own screens. Sure enough, they also had the achievement for winning the trivia challenge.
“A big part of the event this weekend is forming your teams and meeting other players. As you go out, we want you to be the ambassadors and leaders for the armies of new players who will be soon joining your ranks. Everything you do with this event app will be transferred to your new accounts on the official server launching Monday.”
Marc wondered what that meant. The achievement? Would that be useful?
“Yes, some of you may have already caught on. Your old beta user accounts will, of course, be reset at the end of the event tomorrow.”
There was shock, and, surprisingly, even some anger in the voices of betas around the room as they reacted to the news.
Of course, Marc had expected this much, having worked for support at a game company before. Technically, it was the same company.
“It’s only fair, considering the high stakes of the tournament, that everyone should start off from the same place. That said, I’m sure you’re experiences and the knowledge you have masterfully accumulated, will be of great advantage as you climb the ranks again.”
This was the only fair arrangement, but there were more than a few unhappy betas around the hall who had been counting on keeping their advanced status to dominate the game from the start.
The advantage that they kept, Marc recognized from his own development in the game, was still significant. With their knowledge, he had no doubt that the betas would be the group to watch. In fact, he was a little surprised that it seemed they would be able to participate in the tournament at all.
I highly recommend you build up your friend lists, and set up your parties. The FRIEND option in the event app will allow you to easily exchange your player information as well as create parties of up to five other player accounts. Those of you who have already received the award during the trivia contest should have already had your teams registered automatically, though for now you can freely change them going forward.”
Sure enough, He already had entries in his friends list for Leeroy, Ryan, and Selina.
“As you can see from the schedule, we are taking a break for a so that you have time to get some lunch. There are complimentary lunch boxes, should you choose to stay here in the banquet hall, but you can also leave the convention center and check out the city if you prefer. Just make sure to be back here by 1:30 pm local time. Our first contest was a test of knowledge alone, while our next challenge will allow you to use both your knowledge and experience together. We have tried to arrange for prizes that will be useful while playing Awakening in the real world, and we have many, many more to give away. Don’t be late coming back, or I promise, you will regret it.”
Awakening, was a game based on exploring the outdoors. With that in mind, certainly, hotels and airline tickets might come in useful. In spite of himself, Marc was getting curious about what else was in store this weekend.
“That was awesome! Are you freakin kidding me? Marc, you tore them up! Ten grand between the four of us!” Ryan was jumping around, waving the envelopes, and holding the vouchers. He held it up to the light and then placed a big kiss on the paper.
Selina grabbed the thick packet from Ryan and started to leaf through the contents.
“These are premium vouchers. Not discounts or free nights. They are basically the same thing as cash. You can use them in any place, from a Best Western to the Marriot across the street. No blackouts or restrictions.”
Of course, Selina must be familiar with them. That was good to hear.
“What about the airline tickets?”
Marc shared a look with Leeroy, both having the same thought.
“Same. As far as I can tell, they have full cash value. Might even be a way to cash them out. I’m no expert on airline stuff, though. But this is insane! That’s $2,500 each!”
She gently placed the vouchers back into the envelope, holding them protectively.
“Marc, you are my hero. A nerd, a total nerd, but a hero in my book.”
“Wait, what about when I single-handedly saving the town of Pinos Altos from a marauding horde of goblins?” Marc asked, quite seriously.
“Ew, Yeah, that was so gross. And the smell! I had to throw out my shoes from that night. I couldn’t get the stink out. Besides, I helped with that. This,” she raised the evelope to emphasise the word, “This brings your stock up to a solid ‘HOLD’.”
She stroked the envelope like it was a small, cute animal.
“Ouch. Not even a ‘BUY’. That’s harsh.”
Marc looked over at Leeroy, not sure what he was talking about.
“Don’t worry about it. You’re aces in my book. I don’t know. Maybe Ryan has got a point. Maybe I should quit my job, and we can start to look at the game as a full-time gig. What do you guys think?”
Feeling his phone vibrate in his hands, Marc noticed the notification.
[Birdie tells me it’s lunchtime. You guys ok to meet up? Want to get some Pics. LMK -Jess]
He showed the rest of the team the message, and they agreed to meet her. After all, she was also arranging to pay them. Ryan ran off to see if they could take the lunch boxes outside as they started to walk to the exit.
“Hey!”
Marc stopped and turned around to see Tim, the emcee of the bar trivia contest.
“Oh, Hi! Thanks,” Marc smiled. The contest had been a fun distraction, though he still felt a bit guilty. Having a photographic memory full of data and real experiences from the other world, guaranteed him victory.
“Congratulations again. That was… unreal. How did you know that all? I scoured the lore documents for weeks to come up with those questions. I was sure there were some stumpers in there. You ran through it like you wrote the bible on it. I’m pretty sure you were holding back too. Mad respect.”
Marc smiled uneasily. The praise made him feel even worse. He regretted not throwing a few questions, just for appearance’s sake.
“No one, and I mean no one, knows the lore like that, even on the design team. Well, maybe Sandy, after all, she wrote most of it. You interested in a job? I bet she would love to meet you.”
“Sandy?”
“Sandy Olsen? She’s the lead developer of Awakening. She’s my boss. I’ll ask around if you’re interested.”
“Hey! Let’s go! Look! They even gave me some extras for Jessie and the cameraman. Chinese food, I think. They had crates of em.”
Ryan homed in on Marc, carrying a large plastic bag filled with half a dozen bright red cardboard lunch boxes.
“Oh man! You’re the trivia guy! That was awesome! Thanks so much.”
“Yeah, Congratulations! You… uh. Really owned that button…”
“Thanks! Yup. Marc and me, we’ve been at this game from the start.”
“Cool. Well, I’ll let you guys eat then. Great work! Let me know about that other thing.”
“Uh.”
“Oh yeah, here. Open your event app.”
Marc pulled out his phone and launched the app.
Tim grabbed the phone and then navigated to Marc’s friend page. He hit a button on the top of the list, and another of those strange white and black block patterns appeared, covering the whole screen.
Tim then pulled out his own phone, a white iPhone just like the betas used. He pointed the camera at Marc and took a picture. Then he handed Marc back his phone.
Looking at the screen again, the pattern had disappeared, and he saw some popups appear.
[TIMOTHY LAU【ISK】would like to add you as a friend.]
[ACCEPT] [DECLINE]