Mark woke up to the usual aching pain in his knees, he rolled over in his cramped bed, and slowly rubbed the sleep from his eyes with callused hands. He never bothered to set an alarm clock, getting up at 4am seemed to be drilled into him to the point he always woke up within minutes of it. He sat up slowly tossing the light sheet off him and grabbed onto a crutch laying next to his bed. Standing up with it’s aid he hobbled and thumped a few feet from the bed to the door, he set the crutch aside with practiced motions, and pushed the light door open, then using the wall to assist his standing, hopped on one leg, into the bathroom, his left leg missing from about a just under the knee.

He showered and shaved in under 10 minutes, wrapped a towel around his waist, and hopped staggered back to his bedroom with the aid of the walls. He carefully closed the door, and quickly affixed his fake leg to his stump, it was a low tech version little better than a peg leg (though it did have a wooden foot of sorts which he could put a boot on) like you’d see an old pirate wear, he had been denied permission from the government to have one of the new bionic style replacement limbs due to his “war sinner” status. He suspected had the government not used the Sinners for manual labor he would have been left without even this much.

Old faded blue jeans and clean white tee-shirt came next, then he stood up and made his way forward past his sleeping daughter on the couch. He made a bitter face as he passed her. She didn’t deserve to live like this. He’d like to give her more, but she was too young to legally accept the shares of LM-STARS and all the dividends that had built up over the years, and he was a Sinner, forbidden from the government to collect those dividends or sell those same stocks. Of course, the government was happy to offer him pennies on the dollar for his shares, much like they bought many companies from other “sinners” after the war. He wasn’t dumb enough to accept it though.

He put his work boots on, after double checking there were no scorpions in them, and stepped outside the trailer into the predawn morning. Lighting a propane grill took a minute and while it warmed an iron skillet, he retrieved his keys from his pocket and unlocked a large outdoor refrigerator/freezer. Eggs, onion, cheese, some ham. It took him minutes to scramble the eggs and chop up the other ingredients. Another couple of minutes before he had cooked up two basic omelets. He took one inside on an old warn plate, covered it with a paper towel after seeing the time, and placed it in the microwave. Then closed and locked the door to the trailer eating the omelet in a few quick efficient motions, then started the two mile walk to work, with the sun rising behind him.

It had been years since his punishment as a “sinner” had been ended. All sinners spent some time in a military prison, being reeducated on their crimes against society. Though what those crimes were he was never quite clear on. Apparently going to war and losing after serving as an officer in the former USNA (United States of North America) army was enough to be judged politically unreliable or a “sinner”. He had been promoted to lieutenant in a battlefield promotion straight from his prior rank as a lowly corporal after being the lone survivor from his platoon. The war had run from 2119 to 2132, 13 years. By the end of the 13 year war he had lost a leg and rose to the position of Major in the USNA army. He still remembered the surrender in the ruins of the old Capital, and the tears shed by General McCaffery.

The only reason he had not been executed as a member of McCaffery’s staff like the rest was probably because he never went to West Point, and wasn’t even in the Army when the war started. His status as an E-Sport star in Underworld probably helped a bit. Not much, of course, but he suspected it played a role. The judge did ask him for an autograph after his war crimes trial. Of course, being a “sinner” as all the former officers and politicians who weren’t executed meant a sort of permanent “underclass” status. He was required to be “reeducated” about his crimes against the people of the world, then to do manual labor rather then take the government stipend of GC (Global Credits) everyone else had. His monthly salary was significantly less then the stipend of GC, which was intentional. The government had used the poverty of the situation to further marginalize the “sinners”. Many of whom turned to crime to support their families, which of course further stigmatized the sinners in the eyes of the public.

His daughter was born to him during the war with his childhood sweetheart. He had been able to see them both just a handful of times before the war ended. Between the prisons, reeducation camps and forced labor, he was unable to see them at all for 5 years following the war. Then one day, a 10-year-old girl was delivered to him by his old sweetheart, she had found another man, and he wouldn’t take both his ex-wife and his daughter, so he was left with a 10-year-old girl who he never really met before. Their relationship had been a challenge ever since.

His need for more GC to raise her lead him to drift around the countryside with her from Jacksonville to San Antonio until eventually settling on the outskirts of Arizona City, where he had located a job which paid enough to keep them both fed and clothed. His long two-mile walk terminated in front of a huge lot which as far as the eye could see was filled with old military vehicles. Dozens of other “sinners” were filing in for the 6am shift, where they would disassemble the old war assets. The work was quiet and oppressive. Since all the employees were sinners, the government ran the place much like a prison, with armed security everywhere, cameras and other listening devices. For fear of losing his job, Mark basically didn’t associate with anyone, and spent his 10-hour work shift disassembling an old personnel carrier called a “VHLOKU” (very high likelihood of killing us) thanks in part to its design “feature” of exposed and unshielded fuel tanks making it a rather unsafe vehicle to be transported in during war time.

At the 6pm bell he stopped his work, took some time washing his hands and treating the new cut he had on his forearm, then made the long walk home. Just like every day all he had for company was his memories of days gone past. The bitter look on his daughter’s face was something he didn’t want to face when he got home. He knew she resented living like this. Granted the one blessing for living out in Arizona city was most of the residents were either off the grid criminals of some sort or sinners from the past war thanks to the disassembly plant here. Of course, even though she wasn’t the poorest kid in school, he knew she wasn’t far from it. Worse she was at that phase in her life where she was rebellious, her grades had been sinking, and she seemed to be basically aimless with her life. With the elimination of almost all jobs, most kids simply stopped going to college and spent their life living in “fever games” (Full Body Experience Virtual Reality, FBEVR, usually pronounced "Fever") after high school. Unlike many of her friends at school she never had played a Fever game. Which he knew isolated her even more.

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His uneven footsteps came to an unexpected stop as he noticed an expensive looking Honda out front of his trailer/home. A short squat looking figure was leaning up against the red car and his daughter was outside chatting with the man who was so short he couldn’t reach her clavicle. Frowning he started to walk faster approaching quickly, a bit of anger started to peak as he noticed the man was probably in his 40s judging by his hair which was salt and pepper.

The protective instincts of a father started to roar to life in his chest when he saw the awestruck look on his little girl’s face as she talked to the man. His ambling gate picked up purpose along with his pace. Before long she looked up from the little man and spotted him, but rather then look embarrassed or angry she smiled and waved to him.

The little man in front of her seemed to notice the wave and turned around. Mark’s footsteps came to a quick stop as he noticed the face of the man. Then a big grin broke out and he started to approach again. “LEO!”

Leo’s laugh echoed and he said back “Mark you bastard why didn’t you tell me Bliss was such a looker. Had I known I would have visited you years ago.”

Mark’s expression darkened a bit then cheered up when he realized Leo was just twisting his tail, he knew the types of girl Leo liked. Heck he grew up with the man. “What father would let you near their daughter you dumb bastard?”

Leo laughed harder at that “Are you kidding me? Do you know there are fathers who offer up their daughters to me every day these days, if it will land them a place in LM-STARS.”

“Really?” Mark looked a little surprised at that. ‘since when was Leo that big an esport star?’

Leo shook his head and asked his daughter Bliss, “Does he watch the news?”

She rolled her eyes and replied “He never watches anything uncle Leo, especially the news”

‘Uncle?’ Mark paused a moment at that one. “Uncle? How’s this old bastard your uncle?”

She laughed again, this was more laughter and smiles he had seen from her today then he had heard or seen from her in a year. “Since he drove up in a MX-2133. Why didn’t you tell me Leo was an old friend dad?”

Shrugging his shoulders, he fixed his gaze on Leo then held out his hand Leo returned the handshake, Mark was a bit surprised at how soft and delicate his palm was almost like a little kid. He gave leo a closer look and noticed his skin appeared to be a bit pale and pasty, if anything he looked a bit sickly, his limbs had little to no strength in them, and he had a bit of a belly. ‘Well Leo was always a bit more round then fit’. “Is this what those Fever games do to you? You look like half a corpse Leo.”

Leo shrugged, “We implemented a bit of an exercise program and some rules at LM-STARS after a couple of promising rookies died from too much gaming and not enough sunlight, sleep or nutrition. Fever gaming is still a bit new, so we’re always trying to figure out a healthy way to make it work without losing our edge. Right now, most of the team is using a mostly liquid diet to help balance out some of the health problems, with no guidance from the world government health agency, I’ve had to dump millions of GC into private research. Keeping the athletes healthy is a top priority. Of course, you’d know this if you’d bother to read any of the status updates, I send you. Or had a phone.”

Mark shrugged, “I left you the voting rights from my shares and made you president of the company. Why should I bother to keep up? You know why I can’t get involved. So why torment myself?”

“Times are changing…” Leo took a look at the trailer, then shook his head. “What if I told you Underworld was going to be released again, this time instead of VR it will be for a Fever setup? Full touch, smell and feeling, full body emersion.”

Mark frowned, he glanced at Bliss, then grabbed Leo’s arm and lead him to the side. “Bliss, can you make something for us to snack on? I need to talk to your uncle Leo alone for a bit?” he sat Leo down on a rustic looking bench made from cedar, then sat across from him.

“You think LM-STARS can take the government pressure if I played?” Mark asked quietly.

Leo nodded, “We talked it over, we think we’ll hide who you are till your famous, then reveal the tie to LM-STARS and the famous ‘Mark Ulrich’.”

Mark looked at him a long moment, then sighed. “Are you serious? Why do you want to take this risk?”

Leo shrugged, “a couple of reasons, one I’ve wanted to help you for years you just never bothered to return my calls or take my money. Can’t you accept someone’s help? For god’s sake look where your pride had you living? This is no place for a girl to grow up. She’s 17, what’s she going to do in a year when she graduates high school? Become a prostitute? Follow you to work at the scrap yard? Take government GC and become another eggplant?”

Mark felt himself get a little angry, “I was going to pass on my shares of LM-STARS to her on her 18th birthday and let her do what she wanted with her life. What’s it worth now? 10 million?”

“add 5 zeros”

Mark paused then did the math in his head. “A trillion?” He looked a bit disbelieving at the number. “Stop fucking with me.”

Leo pulled a black wallet out of his back pocket that looked a bit like a bank book, then opened it and pulled out a thin transparent plastic looking sheet, he tapped on it and handed it to Mark. Mark took the transparent sheet, flipped it over and looked at the data displayed on one side, it was a stock portfolio with his name on it. He gasped as he saw his net worth.

“A bit much to just toss at your daughter when she turns 18. I’ve seen money ruin good kids just in E-Sports, how is a girl who’s never had anything going to handle this much money?”

“She’s smart…” Mark started to say then paused thinking about it, his concern as a parent starting to pull at his heart a bit.

“Stop dodging the issue. You might not be able to touch that money now, but anything you earn as an E-Sport Athlete will be yours, and the government won’t take it. You can become very rich if Underworld gains even a quarter of it’s popularity back from it’s last year in 2119.”

“If I’m a star you mean. I haven’t played games since 2119 you know. It’s been 25 years.”

“You’re making excuses, and don’t point to that stupid peg as an excuse either. This is a FEVER game not one of those old VRMMOs, you don’t need any physical fitness to win in one of these.”

“I don’t have an IO port or a casket”

“It’s called a capsule, and we’ll install one, get you team housing…”

“No, build the house out here. If I live in known team housing the press will figure out who I am before I even log in.”

“You dumb fool. Do you think I’m that stupid? I already have a place for you. Resign from your job, apply for your GC, using your war injury as an excuse, I have a doctor that will sign off on it. The government will never even bother to look into what your doing if you suddenly move to phoenix on government cash. Rent a place, move in, and enroll your girl at school somewhere in the valley. I’m sure you can find her a good place. Use the cash from the government for your expenses. I’ll cover the rest. We’ll have you going in under a month.

Mark made a face, his insides felt like they were squirming. The very idea of being yet another person taking the “living income” from the government turned his stomach. Part of him liked getting up and working with his hands daily. “Will I have to play this game until I look like a corpse like you? Christ Leo, you look whiter then me, and you’re fucking Hispanic.”

Leo laughed at that one, “And?”

“Fuck, you got me, I’m in.”  Mark paused a moment then asked "What's the other reason you're inviting me?"