“Cha Eunhee you have been summoned here today by the board to provide a summary of you report.” An elderly woman spoke; she was sitting in the center of a semi circular table. “Everything you speak here today will be admissible as testimony. You may not sit.”
Cha Eunhee quietly did as she was told. She was dressed in a formal black skirt and a white collared shirt as if she were attending someone’s mourning. Her face revealed not the slightest unease; her wrinkles spoke of her years of wisdom.
“I will get straight to the point, Cha Eunhee unni.” The elderly woman spoke again, “We have received numerous reports from many other accreditors and they all have testified that Royal Road Elementarem Vim is too dangerous for children. In fact there are some parts of it which make it scary for adults as well. We only need you to confirm the same.”
The woman sounded as if she needed lesser of Cha Eunhee’s opinion and wanted Cha Eunhee to blindly agree to her. However, Cha Eunhee wasn’t so easy, she was brutally stubborn.
“Well if you already have so many expert’s opinions then I guess mine really isn’t needed. Is it, Sasha Park?” Cha Eunhee addressed the other lady as she slowly got up.
“…” The censorship board members were stung in shock. They expected Cha Eunhee to quietly agree with them.
“Please…sit down.” Sasha said slightly flustered by Cha Eunhee refusal to go along with them.
Cha Eunhee hid her smile looking down at the ground as she took her seat. This was all she needed to hear. This strengthened three theories she had about what cards the censor board held in their hands. The first that the other VR rating accreditors turned up empty handed and the censor board was simply bluffing.
The second could be that the VR rating accreditors weren’t reputed enough to be quoted. Cha Eunhee was the world’s best. She pioneered psychiatric treatment through the use of VR. She was undoubtedly a strong pawn in the world of VR rating. Her word would usually be the last and final.
Lastly, the censor board probably had the necessary evidence to prove that the game requires censorship however they just want to ensure Cha Eunhee doesn’t side with Lee Hyun at any point. If she did then it would completely tilt the balance in Lee Hyun’s favour.
However, it wouldn’t be completely clean. The censor board probably knew about her relationship with Lee Hyun. If she sided with Lee Hyun, then they would probably reveal their relationship and cast her as a biased accreditor. Her credibility would take a hit however the people’s decision would be split. Lee Hyun was the people’s favouorite and the censor board was already labelled as a bunch of liars. In that position, the censor board members’ credibility too would be questioned. It would surely kick up a storm and the member’s relationships with the top three VR companies would be investigated. If anything, the censor board members cared more about their position than anything else.
Cha Eunhee worried if it were the last one. If it was really like that then who ever was pulling the strings from behind the shadows was out to completely crush Lee Hyun. Cha Eunhee in the last scenario was like an absolute line of defense. Securing her approval to censor the game would truly leave Lee Hyun with no where to go. The world’s best experts in any field are hardly ever called out as witnesses in case; mostly because they cost a bombshell or are too busy to be bothered to be an expert witness.
Cha Eunhee was no different; when she was approached by the censor boards’ agent she refused to them several times. However, when they persisted she told them she would provide her consultancy service for an absurd fee with 100% upfront advance. Nobody sane would ever agree to terms like those. To her utmost surprise the agents agreed on the spot to the absurd fee she demanded. They didn’t even try negotiating a little; they even went as far as to transferring the money then and there.
There were all sorts of questions Cha Eunhee had from that point on, ‘Were those men really agents from the censor board? Does the censor board even have agents? Where did the censor board get that kind of money? And who on earth would authorize such a payment on such ridiculous terms?’ Either the person was a complete trusting idiot or the complete opposite. It was quite likely to be the opposite. Who ever decided to approach Cha Eunhee despite knowing her relationship with Lee Hyun, knew she put her integrity as a therapity above everything else. They probably knew her all too well and it bothered her. Thought’s like was she being spied upon or being tailed often disturbed her. There was no privacy in the world that they lived, however not having privacy did not mean you were under a camera and being monitored all the time.
“You are an expert in the field of psychology and virtual reality. Your opinion would mean a lot to us. I apologize if I offended in you Cha Eunhee unni; it was not my intention to do so.” Sasha spoke politely and milder than before. Cha Eunhee was far too important of a pawn to lose; her orders were to secure Cha Eunhee by any means and she intended to stick to those orders even if it meant she had to smile when she was boiling in rage.
Cha Eunhee could tell Sasha was angry; for someone as good as her even the smallest twitches about a person revealed their true intentions.
“Then I would like to answer the question you all have been waiting to here.” Cha Eunhee began, “however, you will be disappointed.”
The board members frowned; was this a signal that Cha Eunhee wasn’t going to side with them? Their unease was clearly visible on their faces.
“I need more time.” Cha Eunhee said. “I results are still inconclusive.”
Some members were relieved, others were suspicious and some expected this to be her reply. Whispers broke out as members hurriedly began discussing their opinons with each other.
“I would request the members, to save their breath.” Sasha said while staring at her opponent Cha Eunhee. “I belive Cha Eunhee unni, has something more to say.”
Cha Eunhee smiled; Sasha was the one to be wary of. If there was anyone who was keep whom she had to be guarded with it was Sasha.
“Yes, I do have something to add.” Cha Eunhee continued, “Till last week, I was going to go close this game as a very normal game. However, I came across something very interesting. I am unsure at this point what it is that I have stumbled upon however I assure the implications can be much broader than censoring this game.”
The members’ eyes were popping out in curiousity. They all wanted to know what was it that Cha Eunhee had discovered. Furthermore, what could possibly be more severe than censorship? The immediate thought was banning a game, but the only precendent had been Sword Art Online. However no matter how one looked at it RREV did not even come close to something like SAO. In all, SAO’s console gear was faulty not the game. In the end the VR game was allowed to continue after several tests (not that it helped). All of the board members too have tried their hands at RREV and didn’t discover anything that scandilious either.
The board members were divided; Cha Eunhee had just dangled a delicious carrot in front of them. The question they faced was whether Cha Eunhee could be trusted or not. They had to push for a decision on RREV however some of them had standing instructions to leave no stone unturned. If Cha Eunhee had really discovered something which could have penalties more than just mere censorship then it was worth the delay.
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The question was how much delay the person pulling the strings would agree to.
“Cha Eunhee, I do not think we can wait that much longer…” Sasha began. She decided to take a hard stance and learn more about the nature of Cha Eunhee’s discovery. “Just asking for more time, doesn’t mean we are going to grant it. We need something more concrete.”
“Yes, well I didn’t think you would just agree to it blindly. Please let me explain myself.” Cha Eunhee said.
The board members were slightly wary; they couldn’t believe Cha Eunhee would so casually reveal her discovery to them. Maybe she can be trusted.
“I would like to first bring it out into the open that there is a conflict of interest in the work I am performing.” Cha Eunhee began, “As some of you may know I have been associated with Lee Hyun, the CEO of Unicorn Corp, somewhere around the time he had begun playing Royal Road. While I wouldn’t say we are the best of friends, we do share a good relationship with each other. I also do share other connections with him however this is the most direct one. ”
The board members showed no surprise to the relevation. It seemed that they already knew about this.
“However, at the same time it is my duty as an accreditor to report the facts and to pass ratings accordingly. I maintain the integrity of my work above everything. This is something I can only prove with actions and not with words. So for now I can only request your patience as I gather the evidence.”
The board members again showed no reaction. Cha Eunhee grew wary; she was looking for some sort of reaction like being relieved. No reaction was the worst reaction. This meant that they already knew all this about her which in turn meant that somebody had been investigating her…which in turn implied there was indeed somebody pulling the strings from behind. Till now this mysterious person’s existence in itself was unconfirmed. However, the board members made the deadly mistake of playing an unnecessary poker face. In their attempt to control hide their emotions; they made the mistake of displaying no emotion.
“Given my relationship and duty, I cannot reveal everything. Especially since, what I have come across is highly controvertial. Disclosing even an unlikely theory can result in chaos for Unicorn Corp which is a struggling company of my friend.”
The board members’ eyes widened in delight and anticipation
‘So much for being opaque.’ Cha Eunhee thought. Their intentions were so obvious; they were here to take down elementarem vim not to justly rate it.
“However, that goes against your integrity? Does it not?” Sasha cross questioned.
“No, as I said before my duty is to only report my conclusions not the details that accompany with it. If you pestered me at this point for the details, I can only state my results are inconclusive.” Cha Eunhee defended back. “Furthermore, my integrity is my honesty. It is about not favouring sides here. A thoughtless opinion or hypothesis from my mouth can make or break VR games. Also, if there were even the slightest danger to human life, I would be reporting it to the police and the media and not here. So when you asked me if it goes against my integrity, I would say no it doesn’t. I need to be a 100% sure of what I say. That is where my integrity lies.”
Sasha frowned; Cha Eunhee was not an easy nut to crack…
“Therefore, I will not be revealing the nature of my discovery till I am able to confirm it. However, as I said before if I don’t say anything I can’t expect you to just give me time. Therefore, I will reveal two hints; firstly it may have something to do with source code why Royal Road Elementarem Vim is so popular. Secondly, I need access to all those who were there on the day of the monsters attack. I need to cross examine all these people.” Cha Eunhee finished.
The board members decided to adjourn and discuss the matter further.
Cha Eunhee left the room and quietly waited outside.
After a few minutes Sasha stepped out of the room.
“Your request has been approved. However, you have a deadline of 6 months to wrap up your conclusions. After that we proceed with or without you.” Sasha informed her.
Cha Eunhee smiled and left the building. As soon as she stepped out, she dropped her shoulders and let out a sigh. It had been nerve wracking for her as well. Even though she played all her cards perfectly, there were many times she had been anxious if things did not proceed to as planned.
She opened her purse and took out an envelope. In it was an unused out dated cell phone.
“Yeah, it’s like you said.” Cha Eunhee spoke into the receiver. “I bought you six months after that expect all hell to break loose.”
X-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-X
“I don’t think we should trust her.” Sasha spoke to a man on the other end of the screen.
“It’s alright.” The man replied back. “Everything she said today was admissible in court as testimony. She dug her own grave thinking she was saving her credibility by informing us of her relationship.”
“But still…” Sasha’s doubts lingered on.
“She also slipped up. Begin investigating independently those who were involved in that video. See if you can find the trend that she has been looking for.”
“She could have made that up, to throw us off track…” Sasha cribbed.
“I have to agree with her…” The man said as he got up. “What she said was something I had already considered. The very fact she revealed those two things means she is on the right path…”
“I don’t know…what could the source code possibly reveal?” Sasha asked; she felt she was too dumb to see the obvious.
“A source code is more than just the rules of the game. It contains the rules for AI’s…” The man explained. “There is something about RREV that makes it so attractive to players and it something can’t be explained in words. It is as if Unicorn Corp has discovered a new magical ingredient that makes players love your game. I too want to acquire this ingriedient…” The man said with an evil smile.
“And if she sides with Lee Hyun when the time comes?” Sasha said with no interest in the source code any more. She just wanted to make sure all bases were covered.
“Then, I guess before she can do so we get rid off her too.” The man replied back coldly.
The call ended and the screen went black. Sasha suddenly felt very cold; she had forgotten the man she was dealing with was very thorough and completely ruthless.
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Authors Note:
1. I wonder if this chapter makes it too dark and serious?
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Connect to Royal Road – Elementarem Vim next Chapter?YesNo