CHAPTER 1

The world had been silent for years, until a single voice echoed through the void.

I sat back scrutinizing the words before me.

“Not the worst I have seen.”

I could smell the burnt coffee she swirled in her lipstick covered mug. Cynthia bent over to read the remaining text.

Filling the emptiness and resonating throughout the universe, it had been waiting for eons, biding its time until the moment was right to make itself heard.

At first, only a few heard it. Scattered across the universe, they were explorers and pioneers, searching for new realms and new opportunities. They were the ones who were open to hearing something new, something that defied all explanation.

“Hmm…” She stood back tapping her Like a Boss mug. “I don’t see how this will fit anywhere in our game Logan.”

“It’s not for our game.” I responded, knowing her next words.

“Not our game? So, you’re doing other work on our time?”

“I’m clocked out and on lunch. This is a blurb for my brother’s game.”

“You know Logan, I could write you up for this.” Cynthia said taking another sip.

“Please do, then maybe, just maybe Miranda will actually have to do something.” I said leaning back in my chair with a grin.

“Well, we certainly can’t have that now, can we?”

We shared a laugh and she dropped her act. Leaning back in to read over the remaining text.

“It’s not your best work, but you have something to work with. Is this for the game your brother showed off at the last game developer conference?”

“Yeah, it’s been a challenge writing anything for his crazy new idea.”

“He has yet to fail. Just look at the meta verses and virtual reality games he had developed. Each creation pushed the boundaries of what we thought was even possible. Just think, our game is only possible because of him.”

“I know, he is my brother.”

“Sorry, I become a bit of a fan girl just thinking about his accomplishments. Speaking of that, why are you not working directly with him? I know you always are helping him, but you never fully commit. Instead, you waste your time here making knock offs and wannabe games.”

“Robert and I tend to lose ourselves in our work. Especially when we work together. Days and nights blend as we analyze every small detail to perfect it.”

“Sykrum was the virtual reality game that broke the gaming world and it was the first fully immerse role playing world.” She said pointedly.

I smiled sadly and shook my head.

“Our game was the first of its kind, but the years invested in it made me realize that I should actually, live a real life. Not one inside of an immersion pod. I become addicted to the grind for power and exploration of new lands. I’m pretty sure if I would have gone back to work with Robert, my very patient, pregnant wife would have left me. Thankfully, she knew of its potential and was kind enough to stay with me and support my work.” I looked away from Cynthia and back to the screen. “I was a bad husband and my wife does not deserve to be anything less than my second priority.”

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“Second priority?” Cynthia asked, her eye brow raised.

“Maggie is my first.”

“I do believe Isa won’t mind taking a back seat to your daughter.” She laughed and shook her head. “Going back to your little secret here, is there anything you can tell me? Or is it a secret you can’t even tell your work wife?”

I weighed my options as she looked at me intently. I could see the hunger for information in her eyes. Robert was brilliant, and his next fully immersion game was something beyond even what I thought possible. I thought about what I could tell her and what I should not. Robert hid nothing about his game from me, and often had me help him with the artificial intelligence portion of his game, which was by far the most incredible feature. His new game would be filled with non-player characters, but the AI in charge of their decisions were not aware they were in a video game. Fast forwarding time within the game by centuries caused the AI to create empires, religion and have wars over both. The AI replicated and created its own living breathing ecosystems.

“Hello, Earth to Logan.” I snapped my eyes up to Cynthia who tapped her mug impatiently.

“Sorry, I was thinking of what I can tell you. Basically, I can only tell you what you know. It’s an open world role playing game that is procedurally generated and limitless with unique worlds, creatures and beings.”

“Yeah yeah, like that space game released way back in 2016 that Robert was obsessed about as a kid.”

“Exactly, it laid the ground work and implanted the idea in Robert’s head for his future game.” I said with a smile.

“You could have just said ‘no, I can’t tell you anything’. I already knew all of that. Everyone already knows that. He has been working on this game for years now and that’s all he will say in his interviews.”

I just looked at her.

“Yes, I listen to all his interviews. It’s like I said, I’m a fan girl of his work. Get over it. I only talk to you because I hope one day you will introduce him to me.”

I looked at her shocked.

“What? You think it was because your good at your job and enjoy smoked old fashions with me after a shit week of work?”

“Are you saying beers and tears is a lie?”

“Sometimes its beers and cheers.” Cynthia responded with a laugh. “We both know it’s really so we can just drink and talk shit on our coworkers.” We laughed again and she walked away to go bother some other poor sod.

The day wrapped up nicely and right as I clocked out my phone rang.

“Hey Robert, what’s up?”

“Hey bro, I dig the back story. Its perfect for the second realm and its former emperor. It will without a doubt, cause curiosity and force players to search out its meaning. On another note, have you thought about what I asked you last week? You seem to be ghosting me about it.”

“Thanks man. Yeah, its uncomfortable. I’m not too sure how I feel about it.”

“Is that you or Isa talking to me?”

I paused, my silence was an answer enough.

“Thought so. Listen, Isa is beautiful and wicked smart, but you are also your own man. Besides, what’s wrong with having your own mind ported in as an AI? Just think of what you could do within the endless world.”

“Isa says your just exploiting the minds of people.” I said deflecting.

“They get paid. Plus, its not their exact mind. Its altered enough to remove all previous personal memories. Using human memories and thoughts helps the AI learn and grow, becoming more natural and relatable.”

“How many have you tested this on?” I asked, skeptical.

It was his turn to pause.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought. Not enough to go messing with my mind.”

“Logan, it has worked with the five we have tested it on. All it does is map your mind and extract your memories.”

“And that does not sound illegal or invasion of privacy at all.”

“They sign a waiver. They know exactly what they signed up for and its working like a charm. We change their name and tweak their mind set and release them to see how they react in the world.”

“Sounds like mind slavery.” I said under my breath.

“I know that’s Isa talking again. Listen, do you trust me?”

“I do.”

“It would not harm you in any way. I can keep as much or as little of your memories as you want. We have another guy, code named Uli. He is really making some progress, and giving us some real data on how players will interact within the game. Its only in alpha and we need everything we can to prepare for the beta stage.”

I paused again, thinking over his words. As I reached my car, I unlocked the door and sat down, closing my eyes.

“Come on Logan, this could be huge. You can play the game even if you are not actually playing it. You can even watch the progress if you want. I do plan on setting up an in-game streaming program to track the progress. I could give you the tracking id and you can have some entertainment.”

Pinching the bridge of my nose I sighed.

“Isa is going to kill us both.” I said softly.

“Ah ha! Hell yeah! I’ll start setting things up. It should only take a few days. I’ll fly out to you and we can get it done. It’s been a little since I have been back in town. Maybe, I’ll even bring Maggie the latest immersion pod we just finished perfecting.”

“Isa will definitely kill us if you do that!” I said suddenly worried.

“That is why I’m the fun uncle!”