Chapter Thirty Five: Dream the Crow
November 6, 2010
Salt Lake City, UT
There was a momentary silence; for just a fraction of a second, you could hear a pin drop, then a tremendous roar. Right on cue, the rallying cry enticed the crowd of loyal fans out of their seats.
“I am so pleased to welcome you all to join us for this exciting world-shattering event! Those of you joining us together here in Salt Lake City, as well as others in satellite locations around the world, will bear witness to the beginning of a fundamental change in the way the human race uses technology to interact with the world around us.”
The camera zoomed in to show her profile as she continued her speech.
“We have much to do this weekend, so I will turn it over to our Director of Operations, Ansa Nieminen. I hope to have a chance to meet you all during the event, but… you’ll find out soon enough. It’s going to be a busy time!”
She smiled a Cheshire smile before continuing.
“Thank you again for all your hard work. It’s thanks to all of your efforts that we have made it this far. Until later! Ansa, the floor is yours.”
The screen turned off, as the lights came back on. Marc had to blink as his eyes adjusted back to the light.
As he recovered, he looked around the room. A few people were applauding, but most, like himself, were scanning the room. Trying to figure out what was going on.
A moment later, a woman walked onto the stage. Her complexion was shockingly pale, with platinum hair in a neat bob cut. She wore a pure white business suit and high heels that made nearly no noise at all as she walked on the hard surface. She stood in the center of the stage, and her voice was amplified to fill the room.
“Welcome, everyone, Betas! Thank you all for joining us on this journey. I am sure you all have millions of questions, and I am here to answer… a few of them.”
That earned her a chuckle from the crowd.
“As Mary mentioned, my name is Ansa Nieminen. You all can call me Ann. I’m in charge of game operations, so all those bug reports and feature requests ended up in my inbox. I promise I’ll get around to reading them one of these days.”
More laughter. Mary’s speech seemed to have raised the tension, but Ann’s relaxed style was earning her friends in the room.
“I’m here with some big news. Incredible news, really. A lot of huge changes are in motion, so it is going to be a packed weekend. Before we can get into that, though, we have to discuss some changes.”
Ann stepped forward to stand at the edge of the stage, just feet from the first row.
“A lot of the changes, we’ll be announcing in front of the press, and the world. We brought you in here to give you a chance to take a larger part in that. We want your help with helping make this the biggest news story in the world. Are you willing to help?”
Shouts and applause came from the crowd.
“We need to bring up the energy! This is world-changing stuff! Everything we have been working on for years is finally going to pay off. Are you excited?”
A louder response this time.
“Do you want to be part of the next biggest thing? Who wants to find out what the big secret is?”
Ann raised her hands, yelling out the last question. This time, the response was a roar. People were standing and yelling. Marc and his party stood and joined the rest.
“Great! The first thing I am going to need is to get you to fill out some paperwork.”
It was like the entire room took a pratfall. Confusion, laughter, whispers, more confusion, Ann stood on the stage, then reached behind her back and pulled out a small stack of documents.
“If anyone ever tells you that Director of Operations is not a sexy, exciting job… they probably know what they are talking about. You can all sit down. This won’t take long, but trust me, it will be worth it,” she said with a wink.
“Since this news is going live as we speak, I can share this much. KamiGames is changing. The company is restructuring, and as of this morning, it has reformed as a private LLC. The name is changing as well. The new company is called I.S.K. Holdings. I won’t go into all the details now, but this was a change made to enable the company to take advantage of the amazing new technology that we are bringing to the world. Because of this, however, your contracts with KamiGames need to be revised. Before we can share more details about what’s coming up, we need to update your documents, and have you fill out about five hundred non-disclosure agreements. Doesn’t that sound like fun?”
No applause this time. A few errant coughs could be heard.
“Okay, I get it. Not everyone loves paperwork as much as I do. Would it make it more interesting if I mention that along with your new contract, your role as beta testers will now include a monthly stipend of five thousand dollars?”
The room was deathly silent. Heads swiveled around as attendees looked at each other to make sure they had heard that correctly.
“Huh, I thought you guys would like, that part. Yes. You heard me. Five thousand a month to keep playing the game, just as you have been until now. Even more will be available for those interested in taking up additional responsibilities once the game goes live. So, who is excited about filling out NDAs now?”
Shouts and applause filled the room again. She waved her hands down to quiet the room so she could continue.
“That’s great. Now, I know a few of you might be hesitant to sign these big, complicated legal documents right away. Maybe you want to get a lawyer to look them over first? That’s fine,” she said, nodding her head.
“If that’s the case, we have an area set up for you right through those doors.”
Ann pointed to the back of the room. There were two large doors with staff standing on either side. A large EXIT sign was glowing above it.
“Of course, I’m pretty sure that just leads outside.”
A few more coughs and some nervous laughing echoed against the walls.
“Now, if you are ready, you can go out through these other doors, where our HR team is waiting to take you through the documents. Now, keep in mind, the press conference has been scheduled to start in… oh my, twenty-seven minutes! If you want to be part of the future, you are going to want to be ready by then. Trust me.”
She pointed to another set of doors on the side of the room. They opened up, with staffers lined up in front of the doors, holding packets of documents to hand the attendees.
“Well, better make up your mind; that door will close in… twenty SIX minutes.”
Her warning was like a runner’s starting gun. Chairs squeaked, and the room erupted in noise as attendees gathered themselves up and raced to the door.
Ryan was already pushing and pulling everyone.
“Five grand?! Are you shitting me? This is awesome!”
Leeroy was just as enthusiastic, and even Selina, who had been a bit standoffish since the goblin incident, was cheerfully moving toward the doors. Only Marc seemed to be hesitant.
“What’s wrong? This is unbelievable. We are actually getting paid just to play the game. That’s sixty grand a year. That’s almost as much as I get working at stupid Walmart, overtime included. This is a dream chance!”
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Marc smiled and nodded. He couldn’t help but feel uneasy. It wasn’t the money or the contract. Mary wasn’t here. It was definitely her on the video, though. He now had no doubt in his mind. But where were things going? What did the game have to do with it? Whatever was happening, it appeared that it was starting soon, but Marc had no idea how it all fit together.
As he looked at his party members, he had another concern.
Would it be dangerous?
They made their way to the doors, where staffers handed them large envelopes filled with the new paperwork. When they entered the next room, they saw rows of desks with staffers checking the documents with other attendees who had already signed the papers.
Marc checked through the stack. It had helpful explanations that outlined the changes and additions. Essentially, it was the same contract and NDA he had already signed when he agreed to join the beta test. The changes primarily focused on the new compensation. There didn’t appear to be any new restrictions or requirements from him. There was a small section that added a clause that gave the company, now identified as I.S.K., LLC, instead of KamiGames, the rights to use his likeness and biometric data.
He had no reason to doubt the agreement, so just as everyone else present, Marc signed the papers and lined up to get it processed by one of the staffers.
Once they had finished, they were guided through another entrance into another large room. This room was set up for the media event. A small stage with a podium was set up, with the space in front of it already filled with reporters and camera crews. The staffers guided the betas to fill out the standing sections surrounding the sides of the stage. Marc realized that they would form the backdrop for the announcement.
Marc realized they would not all fit. Sure enough, after about eighty betas had filled out the space, the staff stopped bringing them in. He assumed they were being routed to some other space, hopefully where they could see what was happening.
Soon, it appeared that they were ready to start. Ann stepped on the stage, and the noise slowly faded to silence.
“Good Morning! Thank you all for joining us. We have a busy schedule, so why don’t we just dive right in? My name is Ansa Nieminen, the Director of Operations for I.S.K. I hope you have all received your press packs. You’ll find all the information regarding our announcements inside, as well as a link to downloadable content, including a full media library you can use for your reporting.”
There was an immediate jostling within the mountain of reporters as many started to rummage through large identical envelopes that they all had.
“I should warn you, however, that those links will not be activated until after the presentation, so no sharing them with your teams to get a head start.”
As soon as it had started, the movement subsided.
“Now, to continue, we are pleased to introduce you to I.S.K.’s newest team members. Gathered here and in our satellite locations around the world, are members of our quality and testing team. They have been playing the game in the real world for months and have gathered here to take part in the announcements today.”
Ann turned from side to side, looking at the gathered betas.
“I want to make it clear. The quality team is made up of paid volunteers. You may ask them to help provide you with demonstrations and information about the game, and they are free to help you if they choose, provided they follow the rules of the agreements they have signed. I.S.K. Has put no limitations on them regarding sharing information of the progress of the game with the media, even as a paid contributor.”
Marc could sense people around him fidgeting now. He realized that they had just been granted permission to go and attract the press to lobby them directly for inside access. On top of the stipends they were already being paid, it might be possible to make a substantial amount of money just by providing video clips to news stations. He wondered what other surprises they had prepared for this press conference.
“Now that we have the business part taken care of, It’s time to start the presentation. First, I would like to present our CEO, Mary Lopez, live via video link from our command center.”
With that, Ann stepped off the stage, and the giant video screen behind the stage lit up. A perfectly synchronized image of Mary appeared, standing in front of a room full of large servers. She was perfectly proportioned so that she almost appeared to be standing on the stage. A staffer pulled the podium away so that there was an unobstructed view.
“Ladies and Gentlemen! Thank you for joining us this morning on this huge day. We have so many amazing announcements, and I am sure dying to share them all with you, so why don’t we get started?”
Mary took a few steps back and forth, and the camera followed her movements, keeping her framed in the center of the stage. A text box appeared at her side, giving her name and title.
[Mary Lopez]
[CEO I.S.K. Holdings]
“As you may know from our press release this morning, KamiGames has now reorganized as a private company. The I.S.K. Group includes the entire KamaGames organization. It will be used to leverage new resources to develop our technology to lead the next generation of personal entertainment and communication technology. Our game platform, Pl@y3r, hasn’t even been released yet, but it is already taking the world by storm!”
She waved her arms to indicate the betas surrounding the stage.
“We have our advanced user teams from around the world here today to witness the next step as we move beyond a mobile phone app to a true next-generation technology platform! Because of this, we are pleased to announce that Pl@y3r, the game, has been canceled and is being released under a new name. This new platform builds on everything we have learned in the early testing period, and we feel so confident in the quality that we have achieved, that together with our partners, we are ready to take the next step forward!”
There were murmurs and whispers throughout the room at that announcement. Pl@y3r was cancelled? What did that mean? The betas were as confused by the announcement as the reporters.
“I know what you must be thinking. We’ve heard stories like this before. Companies promise to release something, but it stays in development forever. Changes to corporate direction and strategy can doom products to development hell, never to see the light of day.”
Some heads were nodding around the room, and as if she could see them, Mary responded.
“But I assure you that this couldn’t be further from the truth for the hard-working team members at I.S.K.! I couldn’t be more pleased to announce that the open beta for our new Augmented Reality Platform, now known as Awakening, will be available for download to the public on Monday, November 8. Our servers will be ready to go live at noon, Eastern Standard Time, the same day.”
No longer whispers, people around the room were now talking; some of the reporters now had their phones out and were typing and talking out loud to people outside the event.
The game, with a new name, was going live in just two days? Open to the public? Anyone would be able to play it? This was big news indeed, and a total surprise.
After letting the chaos consume the room for half a minute, Mary waved her hands down to quiet the crowd. It took a few seconds, but eventually, the noise subsided so she could continue.
“I’d like to give you a look at what to expect. We’ve produced a short video, using actual gameplay, of Awakening. I’m sure you will be as impressed with it as we are.”
Mary’s image faded from the screen, replaced with a new logo. First came the I.S.K. Logo. The same graphic that was on the t-shirts of every staffer. Three wavy horizontal lines in a circle. The symbol of ending and death.
This symbol was quickly replaced with a new logo, a fantasy-stylized design with the word “Awaking” surrounded by flames.
A computer-generated animation started by showing a man in heavy armor, looking defeated and injured from battle, he sat with an exhausted look on his face. Suddenly, there was a bright light, and the camera swiveled to show a giant purple circle appearing in the air before the warrior. A giant monster, an Eoten, Marc recognized.
The man gritted his teeth with determination before donning his helmet, grabbing a giant sword, and standing to face the giant. As the camera continued to pan, and inspirational music started playing, other warriors gathered behind the man: an Elvish archer, a robed sorcerer, A human with dual short blades and leather armor, and a dwarf carrying a giant shield.
Slowly, the camera panned around again, and as it did, the CG animation morphed into a real-world image. The warriors were replaced with teenagers, still carrying similar weapons to their counterparts. The Fantasy world disappeared, but the portal and the giant remained.
A battle ensured. Now, teenagers in street clothes waved their swords and shot arrows or blasts of energy from their hands. The beast was soon disabled and fell to the ground, disappearing into an explosion of lights.
The children laughed and gave each other high fives and hugs until a loud booming sound came from the portal. The scene closed as the group faced the camera with determined looks. The image faded to black as words appeared across the screen.
ARE YOU READY?
THE GREATEST ADVENTURE HAS BEGUN.
November 8, 2010
After a moment, the video changed. Now, it was showing actual gameplay. Splitting the screen between cameras and screen captures of the game, the action was now a young man, presumedly a beta, fighting a group of goblins. On one side, you could see armored warrior fighting the beasts, while the other side showed the youth running around inside an empty basketball court in a busy city.
After a few seconds, it switched to a party of five, a mixed group of people apparently in Japan somewhere. There was a girl in a school uniform and an older man in a business suit in the group as they fought kirin near a river surrounded by cherry blossom trees.
The scenes continued to change in rapid progression. A pair of boys in swimsuits fighting sea monsters on a beach, college kids interrupting other students playing a game of frisbee while taking down a dire wolf.
Marc watched as a familiar scene from a parking lot, of four people fighting against an orc raid flashed on the screen. He felt a hand grip his arm and turned to see the excited face of Ryan.
“That’s freakin us! Awesome!”
Marc, however, was worried. How did they get a video of that? There was no film crew shooting them. The gameplay probably wasn’t hard, but what about the video of them. In the real world.
After a few more transitions, the video ended. Mary reappeared on screen.
“How was that? Exciting? That’s just the beginning. Now I’d like to turn the mic over to our lead game designer. She may look young, but her team has been working tirelessly for years to get everything ready for this launch. She will explain how the game works and what to expect at launch. Sandra?”
Mary stepped off the screen and another. A woman moved into the frame. As advertised, the woman looked far too young to be a lead game designer. She looked like she was younger than Marc.
She had shoulder-length brown hair, brown eyes, and an olive complexion.
As soon as she appeared on the screen, Marc’s heart stopped. It felt like the world stopped. Marc stared unbelievingly at the appearance of this woman. He was crushed under the weight of the most complex emotion he had felt in his entire life. Elements of joy collided with anger, loneliness and betrayal, happiness and trust, confusion, hope, and despair. Every cell in his body rejected what he was seeing. This could not be possible.
A single word fell almost silently from his lips.
“Kira?”