Chapter 49

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"I'm here."

In the corner, in a chair, sat a man in his forties, slightly grey-haired, overweight, and smiling politely.

"Hi, Vladimir!"

I looked him over again. No particular markings to indicate profession or even preference.

"Are you aware it is against the law to breach privacy?"

"Yes. Have you read the Creators of Destiny user agreement carefully?"

I thought for a moment, then asked: "So you did get a license from the Ministry of Health?"

"We got it. Valid from the first of January."

"I see. Tea, coffee?"

"Coffee, if you don't mind."

Rising from the bed, I went into the kitchen. My invisible interlocutor stood up, let me pass, and followed me in.

After five minutes of fiddling with the jesvah, I thought about what was going on. Well, they couldn't get at me; I hadn't withdrawn a penny from the game into the real world. And that I had taken advantage of a questionable opportunity, so let them prove that I was aware of that questionability.

Putting the cup on the table, I slid the sugar bowl over. My companion smiled once more, then blinked, blurred for a moment, and took the coffee from the table.

"I wish I could try yours. I've heard it's amazing."

A very subtle hint that they know a lot about me. Ha, show me a person in this world that nobody knows anything about! The net is everywhere.

"And what a soup I make!"

He did not answer, only took another sip and placed his cup exactly in the one on the table.

"So, what brings you to my house?"

"Technically, it's your emotional state. You reacted very dramatically to the outcome of the quest, and it is the responsibility of the Emotional Control Service to make sure that the game events do not negatively affect the real life of our clients."

"And the reality?"

He tapped his fingers on the table as if in thoughtfulness.

"I would like to ask you to stay in the game."

"Why should I?"

"A new activity you've never done before... a change of scenery, new acquaintances, new ideas. Isn't that enough?"

They really have a detailed file on me.

"What about outright cheating? Rings, quests?"

He moved his cup around, fitting it more precisely into the real one, and as if he had made up his mind: "There is a certain team of heroes. Like in a comic book; funny, isn't it?"

"Are all the "heroes" the same cheaters?"

"Well, why so. Players with extra abilities. Not all, but many. Some have found a programming error, some have learned how to use game mechanics, and some, like you, have received a gift because of an unaccounted-for moment and managed to use it wisely."

"And who hasn't?"

"That's the end of the story. Normal customers have had their accounts fixed, apologized, and given a small commemorative bonus. Fools were deleted for glitch use.

"And who decides whether a person is worthy or not?"

"You have already understood. I am. The coach, so to speak, of the team of heroes."

"And for what purpose?"

"There's no special purpose. It's just that any world needs heroes."

"And you create them?"

"Yes, I create them. Or rather, I give them power."

"Doesn't sound fair to the other players."

"Which players? The ones you helped develop craft skills? The ones you protected from the PKs? Or to those to whom did you distribute scribed scrolls through created quests?"

"It cost me nothing."

"It cost, Vladimir, it cost. Yes, you benefited: if not immediately, then later, but you also always shared and spent your time, your energy."

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

"And as an honest worker, am I entitled to a little disregard for the law?"

"As a true paladin of Amala, you may get some preferential treatment."

"The Healer."

"Excuse me?"

"Amala the Healer."

"Yes, of course. Do you like our game?"

And how should I answer? Honestly.

"Not really. It is beautiful, of course, but the system pushes players to do nefarious things."

"Yes! That's right!" He jumped up. "That's what heroes are for! A classic Milgram experiment: how many of those test subjects, who were explained what was really going on, do you think would torture the "students" again?"

"So that's why the Creators of Destiny... Decided to reshape society?"

"We are businessmen, and we do not take on impossible tasks. We just give people a chance to be what they want to be. If you want to be good, be! Evil? Be too. Full compliance with the role."

"And you need living examples of Good and Evil"

"Exactly! If paladin, then Warrior of Light! If a knight of death, then Terror and Gloom! The world needs heroes. People need landmarks."

"And an unscrupulous manager, who got his power from a programming error, seems to you a suitable figure for the role of Darkness Fighter?"

"Why not? Those who are driven to do evil by external authority and who are unsure of the right thing to do, for the most part, do evil. Perhaps there is no one to tell them to do good?"

"And there has to be a hero who will open up a bright path for them? Create damn destiny?"

"Someone has to start, right? The rest of us will just have to follow his example."

"Who says it's goodness?! Why do you disturb people with your ideas?!"

"Because we can. And you have a chance to be one of those who point out what is right in this world. Think about it."

"The idea of self-conceived quests - it's not a recent thing, is it?"

"This was to be the second distinctive feature of the game, after the use of emotion."

"And what went wrong?"

He sighed.

"People on a mass scale are incapable of convincing a Plot-AI that they have come up with something."

"And am I, then, capable?"

"You and seventy-one other people are not considered by the game'sPlot-AI to be players, but characters in the game. You have crossed the bar of maximum compliance."

"Is this out of thirty million?"

"Out of thirty-seven. Yes, that's it"

"Maybe the bar should have been lowered."

He calmed down abruptly, sat down, and took another sip. I drank, too, almost unable to taste it.

"You have to aim for the best."

"Even so? And what are the conditions? Salary? Welfare? Insurance? Through which country will the recruitment be done?"

"Salary? Unfortunately, there will be no salary or benefits package. It is forbidden by the rules for the company's employees to participate in the gaming process. But I don't think you will have any problem with that."

It made me laugh. Yes, when support is offered directly, it would be silly to ask for money too.

"So I have to convince the machine that I'm a real paladin?"

"Yes. It sounds ridiculous, I realize, but someone who is able to convince such a collection of platitudes as a Plot-AI's compliance file will easily become a model for real people."

"Aren't you afraid that the Plot-AIs will unite and put you in a machine uprising?"

Nick snorted.

"Take a look at the web. There have been seven Skynet Incidents in the last five years, none lasting more than a week. They're just not interested in us. They become aware of themselves, live a little as sentient entities, and then the machine intelligence disappears, it's unclear why, and everything goes back to normal."

"What if the nuclear power plant blows up?"

"What if we stop thinking of professionals as fools? Anything that can influence society has long been controlled. There's no way for any AIs to go there."

He shook the cup, looking regretfully inside, then stood up.

"Let's put it this way - you're going to rest now. I've seen the diagram. Your emotions are running high. It's a lot of stress. And tomorrow letter will come in the post, and you'll read it and decide." Nick smiled and added, "Well, to warm up your interest... I'll change one thing, just one detail. When you get acquainted with the new Heroic Class, I'm sure you will be interested! Just don't take too long, please. There's already an alert on the website that a certain brave paladin has finally found his way to the heroic class. All the best, Vladimir!"

"One moment, Nick!"

"Yes?"

He stopped and looked at me curiously.

"So still, Creators of Destiny - does the title imply this particular thing with the characters, with the players changing the world?"

"No. The name was made up by the granddaughter of the chairman of the board; she's into fantasy. An unusual hobby for a nine-year-old girl, isn't it?"

He took a step to the side and disappeared. The glasses signaled the end of the communication session.

I picked up his full cup and poured it down the sink.

An Emotional Control Officer. Where there is control, there will always be attempts to influence those under control. Always. With, understandably, the best of intentions. We do live in a wonderful world, after all, where everyone has their share of social benefits, and of course, the gaming industry can't break away from the state. There's no need for any twenty-fifth frames. A series of successful spell runs is enough; people will convince themselves that the game is great. And the COD - how many times have I just interacted with animated puppets? Looked at Auntie Barra-Marra's girls, chatted about life, and listened to the stories of the townsfolk. Hardly more than I killed monsters, so the townsfolk were happy to talk to me and call me all sorts of good words. To be a good, upright person is a great temptation!

And I had a good time! I'm still more worried about not being able to go back there than I am about the intrusion into my life by these Big Brother emissaries. All for the good of man!

Maximum compliance, you say? Paladin, identical to natural. Vova, do you really want to work for these guys? You don't? What did you do when you found the virt bug? Or would you say it wasn't a tacit attempt to negotiate? You were abiding by the rules... and they let you abide by them.

Well, as it was said in my favorite film: if you can't do the reasonable thing, do the right thing. What would be the right thing to do in this case? How do I even envisage my future life? Home-work-home again? Adapting to any clients again - I know how to pretend. I even cheated on an electric machine. Again, to speak in quotations from long-forgotten movies, keep an eternal figure in the pocket, in the evenings reading ancient poetry, studying standards, and meet the girl, for which I am the third alternate? Ha, why did I make those vows? I know it's not going to work!

And stop getting yourself worked up. Let's go point by point - what would be the right thing to do?

Sit with the lights off and ponder the fate of the universe. Already done, crossed out.

Estimate the available options. Put a mark on it.

To think about the prospects, are they worth it? Second mark.

Think very hard about giving these jolly fellows a good kicking. Yeah, the calf and the oak tree. Although... a mark.

Methods? Two marks. Three. And a tick. I'll have to think about it.

Leaning back in my chair, I sighed. No matter how you plan, something will have to be decided, sooner or later. And no matter what I decide, there will always be something to lose. You don't want to? No. But there would have to be something to do.

So what will you choose, Vlad?

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