User Grant Legate

Prepare for Practical Evaluation

Without comprehension I read the message repeatedly.  James and the small dragon creature weren't around anymore to remove my confusion.  Both, along with my book and pillar combo, were gone.

Logs started rolling out of nowhere into the room.  They certainly they hadn’t been around a moment before.  Most of them were small and clearly moving towards the middle where I stood with a stupefied look on my face.  I stepped over one and kept watching.  The logs didn’t seem to collide with each other, but one I almost failed to get over certainly made an impression on my foot.

“What’s going on now?!”  I hopped around another set of logs while feeling completely unbalanced.

“Practical evaluation.  Our world is going to measure the skills you’ve learned in yours.  Then it will assign placement based on performance.”  James spoke from somewhere else.  At least his words were clear and not shouted across the distance.

“That doesn’t sound good.”  My placement would be terrible.  I hadn’t touched a set of weights in years.

“Are you worried?”

“A little.  I’ve never swung a sword before.”  I said.

“Ah.  Your worry is understandable, but that is another phase.  We’ll work up to it.  For now, keep trying to get over the logs.”

“What about that one?”

“Which one.”  He asked.

“The one with spikes!”  Spiked log wasn’t huge but it was certainly imposing and far too realistic.

“Don’t get hit.”

The tiny dragon was flying around the room.  Stupid thing would hop along some of the logs and run with the motion to stay upright.  It was a tease how easy things seemed for the creature.  I was huffing after the first few logs yet kept on trying.  The first spiked one was easy enough to walk around.  They weren't moving too fast, or too tall yet.  One log was stepped over.  Another from behind went the other direction moments later requiring me to back pedal.  I had to try and find room to dodge another few while getting over the small ones.

Not too hard, just not easy.  Physically this was more work than anything I had done recently.  Nothing comparable came to mind, even hefting objects to the van was easy enough with Hal Pal's help.  I didn't have a robot to do all the work for me now.

"Come on Grant Legate.  Keep trying until it's over."

"When is that?"  I asked.

"When you can't keep trying."  Was his dry response.  "How long do you think you'll last?"

"Probably not long."

"You're not very self-confident are you?"  James asked a second question.

"It's my turn!"

"Ah, true.  Feel free to ask a question if you've got one."

"What's the little dragon's deal?"  I huffed out between the latest rounds of logs.  There was a new one that rolled weirdly in a mannerism that was wobbly compared to the other logs straight lines.  I could see around it but they were getting bigger.

"That little dragon,” He mimicked my words without much inflection.  "Is a curious sort.  It will stick around until you chase it off or it grows bored."

"Okay."  They were waist high now.  "I forgot your question."  This one might get me.  I just had to make it down to the end fast enough and leap over the smaller end.

"You're not very self-confident are you Grant Legate?"

Thin spikes tore into my back and I saw a red bar flash into existence.  Just enough pain feedback through the system to worry me.  I had forgotten this program came with every sensation.   Pain was just a reminder to do better.

Failure to dodge noted.

Total health loss: 10

"Ow, ow ow ow.”  I groaned and got around to answering James’s question.  “I’m just realistic."  There was a few seconds between the next set of hurdles.

"Oh that's just criminal."  The small dragon was leaping over some of them with steadied movements.  Gauging them in the same way a cat would before using wing assisted power jumps.  "I want to do that."

"Feel free to try, Grant Legate."

"Why do you keep saying my whole name like that?"  I asked.

"It’s your name, that's what I'll address you by until you decide otherwise."

"Are you kidding me?  You want me to create a character name while trying to..."  I managed to power over one of them and fell on the other side.  My kneecaps cried out in pain with a poor landing.

"What I want does not pertain in this case.  You will need to decide what to go by in our world.  It matters not to us, but your kind nearly always picks something outlandish."

"Okay.  Okay."  The little drake was having a harder time now.  Even assisted, since it was mostly leaping around, these logs were many times taller than he was, and some were up past my waist.  Those I ran around.

"Did you have a name in mind?"

"Ask me after this!"  I would think about it.  Often times in games names were stuck on the character throughout play.  Continue only allowed one character supposedly, so I needed pick something bearable.

"Oh..."  A giant log rumbled in my direction.  This one was taller than I was and had no way of leaping over it.  Even if I was some sort of ninja who could bounce from one log to another to gain altitude.

"Ahhh!  Little guy!"  I didn't know if it was a guy or not, but the dragon was still playing around and completely oblivious.

Back on the log I could see a hint of how to escape.  Luckily both the tiny dragon and the giant hole in the log were in the same path.  I ran and grabbed it on the way.  The dragon squawked and bit and scratched the ten feet to our safe spot.  Rumbling grew louder.  Rolling doom came closer with each one of my poor strides.  I fumbled over a tiny log going one way and had my calf torn up from a spiked from the other direction.

"Arghhhhh."  I shouted as the biggest one passed over us and crushed my foot.  "AHhhhgh."

Failure to dodge noted.  Critical Location Damaged.

Total health loss: 60%

"Oh god.  Oh god."  The feedback was incredible.  I forgot it was a game.  I forgot that this entire place wasn't real.  The biggest log in the universe had personally crushed my foot.  I twisted and tried to look down.

"Grant Legate."

"Oh god.  It got me.  I'm going to die.  That's it."  

"Grant Legate.  You are fine."  James had a note of confusion in his tone.

"No.  No I'm not."  Queue my manly sobbing.  That was my livelihood.  Who would hire me now?  No wait, I could get a prosthesis.  A doctor would see how much of my leg was salvageable.

"The damage is not lasting.  Shake it off, Grant Legate."

I huffed and felt biting at my fingers.  In panic I nearly suffocated the tiny dragon against my chest.  Once released it huffed a roll of fog at me and flew off.  The sensation of pain lingered along with an elevated heart rate, but my foot was in perfectly fine condition.  I still felt overworked and exhausted though.

"Oh God."  I really needed something ruder to say.  Curse words had been slowly removed from my natural tendencies.

"Are you alright?"

"Me first.  I think.  How did I do?"

"Terrible."  He said dryly.

"Oh."  I fell back and gasped some more.  "Okay.  I'm alright.  I think."

"Good.  I'll let you catch your breath, and review your results.  Then we'll move on to the next event."

There was a popup for more information, which I pressed of course.  Anything that provided me more detail would be welcome.  The next message overwrote the old one.  It was in the same cruddy outline I setup during the initial process, before meeting James.  There was a list of my currently unlocked traits broken down into categories.

Event!

Lumbering Along

Tasked with avoiding a series of logs for as long as possible, you chose to remain non-confrontational.  You moved around what you could and jumped over what was small.  In the end you managed to save a tiny imitation Dragon.  The Voices have used this to assist in their measurement of you as a person.  The following traits have been established.  

Limberness (+2)

Coordination (+9)

Attractiveness (+5)

Endurance (+5)

Speed (+6)

Adaptability (+2)

Focus (+5)

Reaction (+4)

Divine Attention (+3)

I stared at the small window floating in front of me.  Interesting I guess.  Just performing my leaps around logs had seemed to set a baseline for some of my abilities.  Clearly these little exercises would matter in the game, but the traits were far from normal for a role playing system.

One finger poked at the screen but it just bounced away as if my gesture was more rude than useful.  Maybe James would have an answer if I cared enough to figure the puzzle out.  This wasn’t huge on my mind yet.  There were more tests, and we would see where things stood afterwards.

"How many tests are there?"

"Hundreds, if we could do them all, but you and I are limited to ten.  That was one.  It allowed me to measure your reaction, planning, coordination, and strength.   Our world will assign values accordingly."

"Okay."  The huffing for air just did not stop.   Even though this was a game and the stimulus had just ended, mentally I was still wounded and strung out.  Yet according to this bouncy little box my focus was fairly high.  Was a nine in coordination something to be proud of?  What sort of scale were we working with?

"Tell me Grant Legate.  What are you confident in?"

"Dancing.  I can dance."

"Very well.  We shall load something up and see how you perform."  James said.

"Can't you just import my other program?"  I asked.

"Officially, no.  Measuring your skills and abilities has to be done within our world, or within a between space like this one."

"But you have all the data."  And had somehow activated the room, brought it to life, and made my fiancée whisper words she shouldn't have been able to.  That strange murmuring in the background started up again and I looked around.  James sighed heavily.

"I shall check for you then.  Why don't you take a break, revisit your world for a bit, while I consult with the others."

"Okay."

"ARC."

"Awaiting input."

"Log out."

“Remote feedback suspending.  Logging out.”

The ARC’s voice wasn’t much better than Hal Pal’s.  There were other options, other vocal packages ranging from the mundane to all sorts of movie stars.  Money I didn’t feel like spending.

Again things faded away as the real world came to.  First thing I did after counting to sixty was to lift a leg to get to my foot.  Sure enough it was fine, but felt cramped.  All five toes wiggled and the ankle rolled just fine, slowly one way, then the other.

I sat up completely and turned to get out of the ARC.  Everything ached already.  A digital display on my watch advised me only thirty minutes had passed out here.  My body felt worn from an intense workout.  Maybe I should take the bands off before logging in again.  Still.  Once I got past the pain and aches and bumps, this was pretty incredible.  James, and all the others in the cast, had been extremely responsive.  Even the creepy Jester was a work of art.

Now that I stood outside of the ARC world it was easier to see what a masterpiece this was.  James had even said that these Voices were visible from within the game world, so I wasn’t alone in experiencing them.  I needed more information, a better idea of what to do and how to perform on the next few tests.  Maybe I could get more out of them.  Maybe I could just understand better what was happening.  Either way, things would improve by digging up something.

Snacks first, then drudging through the online resources would follow.  Shortly I found out exactly how worthless the internet was.  More redacted posts, deleted comments, removed and banned users.  Entire websites had closure splash pages.  Search terms involving Continue Online only resulted in a few hits and reviews.  I scanned a couple of videos and came up empty.  They had nothing of the interface, nothing of skills or talents to traits.  At least some of it was easy enough to infer.  There were categories; psychical, mental, and social.  Gaining a point in social, for divine attention, was odd.  Was that from picking up the small dragon and trying to save it?

Clearly deep thinking was beyond me.  Asking James might work but it was more fun to dig up answers on my own.  Besides, I had to keep myself distracted somehow.  Logging back into my ARC would just put me in the game again or in the dance program and I expected the computer to want more time.

Those NPC’s were incredible.  Voices.  James was intensely lifelike.  Had artificial intelligence really come so far?  Were my questions and answers just so common that they had scripted a resolution for each turn of phrase?

Luckily I wasn’t dumb enough to believe that the game was another world.  I had personally torn a few ARC machines into pieces.  Not one portion of it generated a portal to another dimension.  Plus people just lay down in the silly machines for hours.  Being in another world with just the brain alone was pure science fiction drivel.

Of course this was the land of the future.  Flying cars were possible but deemed a safety hazard.  Most people just zoomed along the ground or cross country in one of the speed tunnels.  Twenty five lanes of insanely fast traffic could clear coast to coast in about an hour.  All the other local traffic and non-freight plebes used above ground roadways.

I had only rode the cross country express tunnels once, on the worst day of my life.

I banged my hand against the table in my front room.  My attempted research of the web was interrupted by thoughts of the past.  This was why I tried not to focus on what had happened, tried not to let it hurt.  Just to move on and do my job.  Stay in a happy place.  One assignment after the other until I was exhausted and could only lay down.  It wasn’t that no one else had suffered like I had.  There were over a hundred other passengers on that train with her.  I had reacted poorly to the end and took years to recover.

No.

Later.  I would think about this later, or not at all.

A short message went to my friends web page to see if he had any tips for a newbie.  His site had plenty of vague commentary.  After two hours of food, failed research, and barely skirted self-loathing, I logged back into the ARC.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

“Grant Legate.”  James was standing on his side of the doorway to my Atrium.  The silly tiny dragon thing was sniffing around the pile of broken glass and spilled creamer.

“Hi James.  Is the little guy trying to clean its mess up?”  I had to be cheery.  Dwelling on the negative wasn’t the right way to go for me.

“Seems so.”

“That’s a very realistic program.”

“Who’s to say what’s real Grant Legate?”  He waved through the doorway but never actually crossed the threshold.  “You out there, vanishing into a realm that I can neither see nor dare to guess at?  Or us, here, living our entire spans of existence out in something we understand?”

“I guess this seems more real to you than where I come from.”

“It does, but I asked you which is real.”

“I’m not a philosopher James.  They’re both real enough to me.  One’s just in here where I’m visiting.”  I tried to smile.  Telling a computer program he wasn’t real sounded like a bad idea anyway.  “The others out there.  I can’t abandon that one because I need to work for survival.”  And bills, and food, and the internet connection that let me hook the ARC's internet.  Even without Continue, I needed online access for my dance program.

“Fair enough Grant Legate.”

“Is there more than one of those little guys?”  I pointed to the dragon who was now carefully sweeping the cloth around.

“Not here between worlds, no.”

“Huh.”  Neat.

“Why are you so interested in one small creature when you have an entire world you could explore?”

“Mmmh.”  I crossed my arms and chewed a lip.  Trust James to ask a question that required more than three words to answer.  Not that I minded, like everything else, it was a welcome distraction.

“It was the first thing I saw when starting up Continue.  I’m amazed that he shattered glass that shouldn’t even be programmed to come apart, much less broke into the creamer.”

“And?”

“I dunno.”  I forestalled James huff for better information.  “I know there’s more, but it’s rude of me to say that I miss my cat.  I was trying to find a polite way of saying the little guy, which I still don’t know if it’s male or female, reminds me of my old cat.”

“Hurrm.  Cat you say.”  James looked thoughtful then brightened.  “Here, a question for you, and this one may be more than you wish to answer.”

“Fire away.  I’ve got nothing to hide.”  Not even a good porn stash.  I couldn’t even contemplate those sorts of actions without thinking of my fiancée.  After a while the urge just went away.

“Would you allow me to access the data from you world, regarding yourself?”

I chewed my lip again.

“Okay, but I want to know more about the little guy in exchange.  Something worth whatever you learn about me.”

“Thank you Grant Legate.”

With that, James stepped through to my Atrium, which was enough to make me gasp in surprise.  Only a few programs were able to interact with a user’s home like that.  The small dragon thing was harmless enough, but a full-fledged person from a game?  That was crazy stuff.  All hail our future robot overlords.  The takeover starts here, right in my Atrium.  I almost felt proud.

“Should we keep doing those tests?  You said we had another nine to go.”

“Very well.  I’ll set you on your next task and then come back here.”

“Huh.”  I shrugged.  Perhaps I was just beyond worrying about the questionable actions of a computer character.

Then again, it wasn’t computers that really bothered me.  They acted like they were programmed to.  Even an artificial intelligence wouldn’t do something unless logic detailed it was the right way to go.  Hal Pal would tell James I was worth keeping around.  James whistled at the small dragon and we all went through the door into the lit up room.

“For your next task, we’ve decided to go with dance.  However you will not dance with your normal partner.  You must choose a new one for the course of one song.”

“Choose from who?”

“The other Voices, of course.”  James said.

“As long as I get pick then.”  I shrugged.

“Of course, why?  Who do you think I would choose for you?”

“That Jester would be a good way to get a rise out of me.”  There was a clap of light and thunder as the Jester spun into the room.  He swung the Temptress around, looking more sinister with each passing whirl.

“I’ll have you know.”  He, she, it, I don’t know, the Jester was certainly leading while it spoke in a nearly clacked tone.  The Temptress actually looked a mite uncomfortable.  “I dance quite divinely.”  They spun around in a twirl of classical music towards the other door.

During the last moment, before they vanished into a wall, I could see the Temptress smile and lick one elongated tooth.  Her following wink was the last image in my head for a few moments as they popped out.

“So strange.”  I said.

“Very little is private here.  Once you’re down on the world it’s harder for us to keep track, like hiding a fish in the ocean.  Here though, you’re the only light for miles.”

“No others with an Ultimate Edition right now?”  I clenched my eyes and tried to remember that James didn’t view the game system in the same manner I did.

“There have been others, many, but rarely are any two the same.  And there’s been less and less as time goes on.”

“Oh right.  That makes sense.”

“So who would you chose?”  He asked with an eyebrow partway up in question.

“Out of anyone from the book?”  Near the start of the room where we still stood was the pillar and bound book.  It lay open and waiting to be flipped through.

“Of course.  Any of the Voices, whatever strikes your fancy.”

I opted out of the Centaur.  He might trip on his manhood, plus there was the question of who leads or how to swing a horse's ass around.  That gave me only females, since I hadn’t  practiced following in any pair dance.

One page after the other turned.  The faces showed up in the distance, some waved, others glared, even more still did nothing.  Some refused to show up at all, which was interesting.  Maybe my actions offended some.

Finally I picked something just a little bit outside my comfort zone.  This might just break up the haunted on one of the Voices.  I stopped at the plump women who still cradled a baby.

“Would you like to dance?”  I asked.

“Tut.  What nonsense is this?  I didn’t ask for this.  Go away.”  Her head shook back and forth.

“Trust me.  I could tell you needed a break, even if only for a moment.”

“How would you know anything of raising a child?  I can see you’ve never had a kit of your own.  It’s plain as the nose on your face.”

“I have family, I have a sister, and I know the look in your eyes as well as I know hers.”  Pure exhaustion and an existence that only kept going because that was all the mind knew to do.

“For just one song, we’ll dance.  Come on.”  I held out a hand and waited.  This was so much easier with the program in my other room.  She never argued and was lighter by far.  My mind was already whirling through the few dances I knew to find something comfortable.  And she didn’t look the sort to be find comfort in much.

“Who will watch this babe then?”

“James, can you hold a baby for a while?”  It was his turn to answer a question I believe.  It was hard to keep track at this point, so much of what we said was as natural as conversation.  It didn’t feel like an interrogation at all.  Perhaps to another person, a more suspicious one, or one who wasn’t used to baring bits of his soul at a time.

“I’m not comfortable with children.”  He nearly sputtered the words.  Clearly my choice had been a surprise.

“Anyone out there who can hold this little one?”  I knew some of the other Voices had to be watching.  They always seemed to pipe in when it was unwanted.

“We’ll watch him Mister Grant Legate.”  A child’s voice came from nearby.  I turned and saw the same younger girl who had held a book.  She had been reading alone in a library.  Her hand was being held by the Angelic one with a faraway gaze.

“Is that alright Miss?”

“Maud.  Call me Maud.”

“Maud then, would you entrust the little one to these ladies for the course of a song?”  She barely nodded before the younger girl took the babe away.

“I don’t know how to dance.”  She had a slight accent and skin tones were hinting at another ethnicity.  Were those cloven feet?  It was hard to tell from under the large wash maids dress.

“I wasn't born knowing how to dance, I don't think anyone is.  I could teach you, if you want?”  This was too fun.  Could I even act this friendly with real people?  It was more likely I was able to be so friendly because I knew they were computer generated artificial intelligence's.

“Yes, please.”

“Put your hands up for a moment.”  I remembered how the dance program had walked me through all the beginner motions.  There was a walk through for so many dances, each with ranks and difficulties.  They had shown me how to lead, how to help someone else, and so much more.

It was my only real skill, well, perhaps talking to people.  I could dance my way to supremacy!  All hail the dancing meat bag!  Please don’t turn me into sludge future robot overlords.  It would be just my luck this woman would have a brawn of one million and squish my frail virtual form.

“Aint’ funny to laugh.”

“I’m not laughing at you Maud, just my own terrible thoughts.”  She flushed red for a moment, looking all too human, far more than I expected.  It made me laugh again.  “Nothing so crass.”  How often did I get to use the word crass?  Twice now!  It was exciting.  “This seems very unreal to me.”

“Well it's a bit too real to me."  She huffed but kept right on going along with our setup.  I placed her hands in comfortable positions, nothing intimate, just professional and courteous.

“James!”  I yelled behind us.

“Grant Legate.”  Okay the name thing was going to get old really fast.

“Can you get the music for a box step from my dance program?”

“Certainly.”  James said.

“Alright Maud, the box step is one of the easiest to learn, but it can still take time if you’re not used to it.  Just step with me, like we’re dancing a square.  The music is our timing.”

“I’m not sure about this Mister Grant Legate.”  I managed to keep from getting irked at my name being said so many times.

“We'll take it one step at a time.  Slowly now.”  And so we went.  Our path ventured back, and to the side, forth, and to the side again.  On and on.  I commented on her hand placement, took strides with her.  She was a heavier woman, but it didn’t mean much in the face of myself, a man who had let go of a gut.  If anything we were almost matched.

Once upon a time I had been in shape but couldn't dance.  That was years ago.  Now I was man who wasn’t in shape because I had no one to do so for, and danced with a pale imitation of the past just to prove I was able to learn.  I felt sad again for a moment, from another bout of mood swings, but still danced.

Maud didn’t carry herself with a clever air, but she wasn’t stupid either.  Once I fell silent so did she.  Instead Maud worked extra hard not to step wrong like she had at the start.  By the end of our third song, two more than expected, she had the basic moves down very well.  We broke and I clapped and bowed.

“Well done Lady Maud.”  I could get used to this role playing thing.  The freedom of saying what came to mind instead of worrying about another’s impressions.  I honestly enjoyed myself.

Event!

Dancing With a Voice

Tasked with performing a dance for the Voices, you chose an unlikely candidate as your partner.

Maud, Voice for Orphans and Separated Families, took you up on your offer.  She even let someone take care of her latest charge for the course of two extra dances.

Due to your demonstrated skill Maud has learned Dance: Beginner (2) and had a slight personality change.  Once a month Maud will descend from the heavens to enjoy a night on the town!  On those nights her statues will have a joyous smile.

Those lucky enough to see Maud dancing will enjoy the following bonuses

+ 1 Divine Attention

+ 3 Limberness

Those who actually dance with Maud will enjoy an additional bonus.

+ 3 Divine Attention

+ 2 Respect

Other bonuses may apply depending on personal abilities unlocked

“Heh.”  I laughed and shook my head.  These quest texts were just too quick and funny.  How on earth had they programmed something to line all that up so fast?   I guess that meant Maud enjoyed herself as well.  Once our dance was done she ran over to pick up her child.  Her face was flushed as Maud vanished into whatever version of virtual reality housed the Voices.

“Good enough James?”

“Do you feel like you did a good job?”  He circumvented my question with one of his own.  This computer really stuck to the rules.

"It was fun."  A smile crossed and a laugh escaped.  My belly jiggled.  Poor Maud, to be stuck with me as a dance partner must have been disgusting.  Maybe one of these events was a shower or swim at the beach.

“What’s next?”  I asked.

“What do you want?”

Maybe I was behind on my answers, or maybe James was just being pushy.

“I'll give you the answer, but you'll need to understand where I'm coming from for it to make sense."  Dancing was easy.  I felt like James was going easy on me though.

"Did you get a chance to review my information?”  He was a computer program.  James probably had a chance to study an entire library of knowledge in the span of one dance.

“Yes, I did, Grant Legate.”

I bit my lip and for a moment and tried not to put too much thought into my next words.

“You may have seen that I’ve had a rough few years.”

“Indeed.”  James was dry in his response.

“Then you might understand all I really want is to keep myself busy and distracted.”  I said.

“Why?”

“It’s my turn for a question James.  I think.”

“Very well.”  He nodded in agreement.

“You’re kind of a half shrink, god, Voice thing.  What do you think is the most distracting thing I could do?”  I closed my eyes briefly and tried not to put too much hope into the question.

“You should already know the answer to that question.  The most distracting thing in life is simply living with all you’ve got.  This is true in both worlds.”

“Right.  One foot after the other, forward march.  Forward but never backwards.”  I tried not to feel hurt.  Of course a computer program wouldn’t have an answer better than any other source.  That left me with the happy mask and baring my soul like answering didn’t hurt.  

James hummed and chose not to ask his question again.  Instead he said “What would you like to do next, Grant Legate?”

“I don’t have any good idea James.  Just distract me.  Please.”

“Very well.”  He said.  The room about us changed once more.