Reaching for his phone he quickly messaged Heather and Dustin before opening the Heaven’s Gate forums. He wanted to explore if anyone else had received a similar prophecy. However, the only hot topic was the first-anniversary update. The players were animatedly discussing and speculating on new item drops. Next, he opened the Settlement Lord subforum. Several players complained that they lost everything in the blizzard. Henry felt a pang of sympathy, knowing his team was responsible.
Setting the tablet aside, Henry dressed for dinner. He was set to meet Heather at their favorite local bistro, downtown near his condo. As he walked, for the first time in his life, he started noticing the birds around him. There were birds of different sizes, colors, and calls. But what caught his eye were the black feathered birds. Yet, all the birds seem to ignore, except for the largest. A tall, ebony, royal-looking bird, with beady black eyes stared right at him.
Henry couldn't shake off the feeling of being watched as he continued his walk to the bistro. The royal-looking bird, with its beady black eyes, seemed to hold a depth of intelligence that was both unsettling and intriguing. It was as if the bird was not just a creature of the city, but a messenger, perhaps another omen Demeter mentioned in Heaven's Gate.
But he shook off the ridiculousness. Demeter was merely an A.I. constructed to help regulate the virtual world, it would be impossible for her to have any reach outside the game.
Still, staring at the bird gave him an eerie feeling, like the lines between reality and virtual were blending. Henry had always prided himself on his ability to separate his online persona from his real-world identity, but the events of the day were challenging this distinction.
Tomorrow, at work, he decided to email the lead engineer to see if there was a problem with Demeter’s code. After all, it was every employee's job to make sure the game ran smoothly and point out any bugs.
As he arrived at the bistro, he found Heather already waiting at a table. She greeted him with a warm smile, but Henry was momentarily distracted, his mind still lingering on the ebony bird and the mysterious message in Heaven's Gate.
Heather noticed his preoccupation. "Everything alright?" she asked, concerned lacing her voice.
“I guess my head is still in the game,” Henry joked.
“Oh, that happens to me all the time. Sometimes I can’t tell the difference between the real and virtual worlds. Just yesterday during my advanced chemistry class, I looked for a vial only to realize it was in the game,” she laughed and then added. “Don’t you ever wish you could use your game inventory in the real world?”
“Sometimes, I guess,” Henry replied vaguely.
“Why the noncommittal answer?”
“If your inventory could crossover, what else might do the same? Could you imagine the damage an orc chief or a goblin shaman would do in the real world? If a troll crossed over could our military defeat it?” Henry asked hypothetically.
“That makes sense, it’s like Schrodinger’s cat. If Earth opened a gate to Heaven’s Gate, then theoretically NPCs could do the same to Earth.”
Quietly considered the possibility, before drifting from theories about the game to the nature of virtual realities and their impact on the real world.
Soon after the waitress took their orders. Heather ordered a lemon seltzer and vegetarian lasagna, and Henry ordered a Coke and shepherd’s pie.
Afterward, they talked about work. Each shared stories about their job and coworkers. Henry enjoyed hearing about Heather’s students and teachers. Her high school was like a soap opera but on steroids and birth control. Often, Heather described the teachers as more dramatic than the students. Yet, Leon enjoyed her stories.
It was only after they finished eating, did Heather asked him about Demeter’s revelation.
He hesitated, then decided to share his experience. As he recounted the events, from the game and the ebony bird on his walk on his walk over, Heather listened intently.
Heather thought for a moment before answering. "How curious? I’m not sure what to think, but I don’t think you should dismiss it. I mean A. I gods in Heaven’s Gate and the most powerful computer algorithm in the world. Who knows their influence outside of the game?”
“You might be right. Or maybe someone programmed Demeter to send me the cryptic message,” Henry considered.
After dessert, Henry walked Heather to her car and gave her a simple kiss goodbye. Watching her drive off, he looked up at the glowing crescent moon. The moon, together with the thousands of stars shined brightly illuminating the night sky. Even though it was evening, Henry could see clearly. Henry, mesmerized by heaven’s beauty, was called back to earth by a cawing noise.
Straining his head downward, he saw an ebony bird, perched on a nearby lamppost. Staring at him, the bird hopped on the branch before it flew over and landed on his shoulder. To Henry’s surprise, there was a piece of paper tied to the bird’s leg. Henry untied the string and unrolled the scroll.
The message was direct, “Follow The Bird To Receive Your Invitation.”
Henry looked around to see if any noticed the strangeness of a bird on his shoulders, but no one seemed to glance his way. Everyone preoccupied with their own lives seemed to ignore him.
No sooner had Henry read the message than the bird flew away down the street. Not sure what to do, he chased after the bird. He followed the bird down the street, through back alleys, and across parks until it rested on the roof of an abandoned old church. The boarded windows, construction equipment, and scaffolding gave the church an eerie feeling. From the outside, it looked like the church could collapse at any moment.
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The bird that stalked him earlier, looked disinterested. It was clear the bird cared whether he entered or not. Henry weighed the pros and cons of venturing alone into an abandoned building and what waited for him inside.
Yet, his curiosity proved too strong. Cautiously, he walked to the church. As he walked closer, he could see peeling paint and missing panels on the wooden floor. Yellow caution tape barricaded the entrance, warning entrants. Still, Henry persisted, ducking under the caution tape, he opened the creaking front doors. Walking inside, the only light came from three burning candles on the altar.
Seeing nothing inside, he sighed in relief thinking his mind made up the whole ordeal. Except he could feel the scroll in his pocket. This wasn’t his imagination, at least he didn’t think so.
Suddenly a shadow moved in the background and a hidden figure appeared. Clad in a dark grey tunic and mask, a masculine voice instructed, “You’re the last to arrive, put on the robe and mask and follow me downstairs.”
Momentarily stunned, Henry did as he was told. The grey tunic was thick and heavy and looked like a monk’s habit. The black mask had a short beak that resembled the ebony bird he followed. Sliding on the mask and slipping up the hood, Henry wasn’t sure if this was a cult or fraternity.
“Hand me your phone!” directed the clandestine man. Henry complied. Then the cloaked man directed Henry to follow him downstairs.
In the basement, Henry saw three other cloaked people. The man who brought him downstairs handed his phone to another. They quietly spoke before looking at him.
“I’m glad you accepted our invitation,” came a subtle feminine voice. “Here we don’t use names, instead we address people by titles. From now on your title is ‘Applicant 5’. You will respond when addressed only by this name. Should you accept our invitation, and be selected by a family, your family will give you a new title. Do you have any questions?”
Henry had several. “What is the name of this organization? What is its purpose? Why was I invited? What if I’m not selected by a family?”
“You will find out those questions after you’ve been selected. If you’re not selected by a family, you’ll be either dismissed or killed depending on the family that invited you?” she explained. “Now, no more questions. Take him through the portal.”
Suddenly, Henry felt himself restrained by one of the people, his hood removed, and something stamped onto his head. Then his hood was returned, and he was pushed through a doorway.
Thaddeus felt his headache and his stomach felt queasy with motion sickness. Standing up, he noticed four other people were standing in line. Looking around the dimly lit room, he noticed he was in an old ornate theatre. Hundreds of people dressed in tunics and masks looked upon them. On stage were people dressed in fancier black robes and more elaborate masks with gold trim.
Standing up, the leader looked at the applicants and announced, “Welcome to Ordo Raven!” his old masculine voice filled the theatre. Each of you was vetted, recruited, and offered time to consider. We promised to reach out and each of you accepted our invitation. I know the recruiter was purposefully vague, but let me tell you, our purpose. Our purpose is to bring virtual into reality. What you may, or may not know, is the classified background of Dr. McElvaney and Heaven’s Gate. The truth is the core processor of Heaven’s Gate is extraterrestrial.
An energy, more powerful than any that ever existed, was captured by a rover on Mars. A young physicist, by the name of Dr. Thomas McElvaney, working at Standford University was the first to understand the transformative nature of energy. Thanks to his research, he was able to give evidence of the existence of new lifeforms, alive within the block of energy.
He and the applicants gasped at hearing the revelation.
“I know it’s frightening to hear, but it’s the truth! We are not connecting to a virtual world, but another reality. The best we can tell, energy acts as a gateway to a new world. Our minds, when linked to energy, enter a wormhole, and our consciousness is transported to another world lightyears away.
Thus, the virtual gods are not artificial intelligence, but rather superior intelligent lifeforms. They are great beings of energy. Cronus the god of time, Zeus the god of management, Athena the goddess of order, Eris the goddess of chaos, Apollo the god of air, Triton the god of water, Demeter the goddess of Earth, Ares the god of Fire, Hestia the goddess of light, Hephaestus the god of darkness, and Thanatos the god of death are real gods of the universe. At least, they are the only gods willing to interact with us earthlings.
Now consider the technological possibilities. We could use this energy to travel to various worlds. We could colonize worlds. We could enter diplomatic relations with other terrestrial governments. The possibilities are endless. This is the reason why Ordo Raven exists. We exist to research and expand the possibilities of reality!” the leader finished, triumphantly to applause.
The next to speak was another leader. Her elderly feminine voice was a sharp contrast to the first speaker. With a gentle cough, she spoke. “I’m tasked with introducing you to the guild’s organization. While we are united, there are three major factions which we call families: night, twilight, and daylight. Many may choose to think of them in terms of evil, neutral, and good. But that is a false idea. A better understanding is to view people’s beliefs on a continuum. Thus, we align people to be lawfully good, lawfully neutral, lawfully evil, neutral good, true neutral, or neutral evil, and finally chaotic good, chaotic neutral, or chaotic evil. You may also think of the universal gods in this way.”
Sitting down, the last person, an elderly man with a warm familiar voice spoke last. He recognized the voice, but he couldn’t remember to whom the voice belonged. “We know you have questions, but it’s the responsibility of your family to answer them. My duty is to host the sorting ceremony. Let’s begin, shall we.” Looking at the audience he announced, “Please look at your tablets. There you will find the relevant information for each applicant. Of course, the biological information is hidden, but you have an estimation of their alignments and notable achievements. Which family will bid for Applicant 1?”
He looked in the distance as several paddles were raised.
“Very good, Applicant 1 shall join the Night Family. Who will bid on Applicant 2?”
He saw fewer paddles were raised.
“Hmm, it looks like Applicant 2 shall join the Night Family. Who will be bid on Applicant 3.”
This time no paddles were raised.
“Applicant 3 shall be extinguished,” the man ordered.
“No, please someone chose me. Please someone save me. I was told, I had a supporter here,” she begged. He immediately recognized Candince’s voice. She was his team leader.
Just as he was about to reach out to him, he heard the muzzle of gunfire. The loud noise caused his hearing to go deaf. Covering his ears, all he heard was ringing in his ears. Deaf, he looked on as Candice’s body was placed in a cadaver bag and carted away. Desperately, looked around for any semblance of understanding. It was then he saw Applicant 4, curled into the fetal position crying and covering their ears.
What concerned him the most was his fate. Would he die or be auctioned to a family? And which family? He had no desire to go to the Night Family. Although he didn’t consider himself evil, he knew he’d broken some laws when he was younger and done some things his catholic mother would consider sinful. As he debated his fate, he saw the elderly man return to his seat.
Breathing a sigh of relief, he thought, ‘I wonder what family selected me?’
“Sir, the Twilight Family claimed you,” Alfred explained.
‘Alfred, what are you doing in the real world?’ he asked in surprise.
“Sir, you are in my master’s realm.”