Codename: Freedom - Book 5 - Chapter 16

That first night was interesting. There were several people in the Champions Room that stayed up late chatting. Brendon Black wasn’t the only person that thought I didn’t deserve a top 100 spot. However, I was viewed more like a professional athlete, but I’d also just rescued my mother from a group of terrorists in a very public manner. So I didn’t exactly belong, but no one minded my presence or excluded me from the conversations.

Destiny insisted that I stay put even though I wanted to go find Kline and the others. Mel and Olivia left a few hours after dinner.

“Spending a little time with them now is a long-term investment,” Destiny whispered. “Who knows when you might need to call on them in the future.”

So I stayed. The topics we discussed varied broadly. Anything from football to sharpshooting, our favorite new gear to unexpected combat techniques. Come to find out, Ebrima Okoro had a thing for growing grapes and making his own wine. Brendon had a thing for drinking it, and every form of alcohol for that manner. The Real Major didn’t say much during such topics, but I learned he had thirty-one grandchildren. I could tell even if he didn’t say as much that he probably spent as much time with them as possible.

It was past midnight when the man stood and stretched. He asked, “Major, will you walk with me?”

I went with him. As we left the room, the others let us go.

Near the elevators on the top floor, there was window from floor to ceiling. It allowed for us to see the stars, but there were difficult to make out too many with the party still going on below near the entrance. The spacecraft, mech, tanks, and smaller vehicles were still on display.

Major Jeffery Wright stopped there, taking a few moments to observe the scene below before he spoke. “All of this activity for a shared illusion.”

The man gave me a sidelong glance. “You’re amongst the first generation of soldiers who train and fight solely in a simulation. Yet very recently you were forced beyond the safety of your Cube. You’ve witnessed it firsthand.”

The look he gave me when he turned caused me to fight back the knot forming in my throat.

“I pray that virtual war becomes the standard. That it replaced the life and death that has come before it.” Shaking his head, he looked pained. “I know better. Maybe it will last for a few generations. Decades… Perhaps, a century or two if we’re lucky.

“I’ve witnessed hundreds of my men die. Countless friends. Over my half century of service, I’ve taken as many lives as were taken from me. If there truly was an end of war, I’m not sure there’s a limit to the effort I’d exert to make it so. But it’s only a matter of time before someone realizes that all they have to do is break the rules in order to win. To remember that if you kill your opponent they will never return to the fight.”

The Real Major turned to the window even though he stared off into nothingness. “I have a decade left in me. Maybe two if my body defies the normal limitations. You are a leader of the next generation. You must be ready. This Prime Simulation is like a dream to every old soldier who’s lost too much. But unless our mind is failing us, the reality of war grounds someone too thoroughly to hope in dreams. The reason is simple enough. War is human nature.”

Holding his hand up as if he were going to palm the glass, Jeffery Wright rolled his powerful mitt into a fist and rested it ever so gently against its surface. The effort it would take someone of the Real Major’s caliber to break even the strongest, reinforced window was for all practical purposes nothing.

The man continued, “Your generation will possess the greatest level of combat prowess in Earth’s history. To be able to train without fear of injury or death. To utilize psionic abilities… For the first time in centuries, we’ll be able to stand toe to toe with the enemy without relying on massive mechs and machines. You’ll do that. The Ekseliksi have an advantage due to their rich history using psionics, but as long as Earth survives, it’s only a matter of time before we surpass them. Our advantage is too much for them to overcome. They limit themselves to psionics, while the Jinhwa limit themselves to technology. Earth readily makes use of both.

“Yet, the surest way for us to lose is to fail to realize that the Cubes that make so much of this possible are also cages by another name. The day will come when death returns to the battlefield.”

When he turned back to me, he revealed something I’d never seen from him. Something he didn’t show publicly. There was a deadness in his eyes. That thousand yard stare that soldiers get when they’d seen everything and just kept functioning because it was all they had left.

His voice was soft like a whisper but there was too much grit in his for it to lose its sharpness. “My grandchildren will be in your care. Billions of lives. It’s not something you Freedom guys signed up for, but you’ll be called to it anyway. And despite your achievements being in simulation, I’ve seen enough to know that you’ll heed the call with the rest of them. You now know what it is to take a life, and what it’s like to almost lose your mother and father.

“Some of us are born for war. That degenerate Brendon Black and the noble Ebrima Okoro might seem like opposites, but as different as their personalities are, they’re also brothers who exist for times of conflict. You belong to the same brotherhood, Lucius. It’s your oxygen. Your daily bread. Men like us don’t live peaceful lives, and rarely do we die quietly. Either we burn the world down around us, or we step into our place in history and do what others can’t. Defend the world from violence with violence.”

Life returned to his eyes as he wore a jovial look like a mask. “Don’t let yourself be caged. You must stay at the ready. Lead when the time is right.”

I’d already been planning on staying up all night. Psionic healing made that easy enough. But after the Real Major left, I remained standing there considering his words for quite some time.

Later, I did return to the Champions Room and even spent some time in the sauna before freshening up in the shower. Even after I was mostly alone, I continued meditating on what he said while wondering if my relationship with Victoria and the Ekseliksi would hinder what he was calling on me to do in any way.

***

There was an announcement followed by a worldwide frenzy. Unknown to all but a few, the psionics unlocking serum wasn’t just being announced. It was being released that same day.

A large supply was available for purchase over the Meta, but it ran out within fifteen minutes on the announcement despite the substantial cost. For those who were late, they could put their name on a waiting list while more was developed or find a place that had a physical supply.

The convention doors to the public didn’t open until 9:00 AM. The instant the announcement was made an hour earlier it sent a stampede of new guests rushing to get to the convention center. It was there that the largest remaining supply was waiting for whoever got to it first.

Mia’s show wasn’t to go live until late afternoon, but she did a rare livestream the moment she found out. As someone who had spent their whole day at the convention the day before, her stream showed her and Oren rushing from their hotel which was just a few blocks away.

They weren’t alone. Her drone drone’s surveillance tech was top of the line, so she was getting a good three-dimensional feed of her and their surroundings. The race was on. She was a guest, so they wouldn’t have to wait until the doors opened.

Running past her, Bolt was still wearing a bathrobe as he called out, “I’ll save you a spot.”

The guy normally came off as dense, but if he could secure a supply, it would give him content for weeks—plus the added benefits of psionics.

She could’ve sent Oren ahead. With her short stature and little legs, there was no way for her to win such a race. At the same time, they had no idea how large a supply was available. It would be nice to have more fresh content, but it was hardly necessary for her. Even if she didn’t make it in time, she still had thousands of people watching. The clips that followed would gain even more eyes.

The line to the civilian entrance was already around the building and down the block. She continued to hurry as several fans cried her name from the line.

Once inside, half the celebrities that had been invited as guests were already there. Greg, her bodyguard, found them once they were already in line. He’d been here early to watch their stuff. He had a small team he worked with during events like this so that they could work in shifts while also enjoying the convention.

Mia just hoped they could get three doses, or therapies, or whatever form the serum came in. Greg would be much less stressed if he developed some skill with psionics because of all the Vanguard participants they were interviewing. She and Oren wouldn’t miss the opportunity either. Not that they had any desire to do any fighting, but a hold new class of content was about to be invented. It might even give her the right means to break out of her old character’s mold and be something than the overactive teen with goofy reactions.

***

I was deep in thought when Destiny interrupted me with the news.

“I ordered in time to secure enough for your parents and extended family. At twelve thousand cryptos per person, it was expensive, but not as bad as we anticipated.”

Looking up, I saw a hologram of her face floating above her purple orb. “Thank you, Destiny. How’s their stock?”

“The pharmaceutical that owns the patent is already up 300% and climbing. I recommend sitting on it instead of selling. There will be a lot of ups and downs over the next few weeks. Treating it as a long-term investment is best. Even if everyone in the world purchases it, all future generations will also have to have it administered, so they’re not going anywhere.”

As exciting as it was to own a small percentage of the company that developed the psionic unlocking serum, money didn’t have the same meaning to me. Even if I was spending most of my money in the Prime Sim, the couple hundred million cryptos we’d put aside would be enough to provide scholarships for any kids in my extended family for several generations among other things.

I’d hang out here for a little while longer to greet some of my competition as they returned here this morning before I went to find Kline in the Elites Room. Then we’d decide what to do next. Much of what we were doing was being recorded even if our conversations being released the public to a limited extent. I needed to make a few appearances here and there to appease my sponsors.

The best thing about today’s release was that I was sure it would be tomorrow or the next day before they had us compete. That gave me time to spend with friends to an extent I hadn’t in quite some time. It ended up only being a day, but it was one I’d remember. The Devs always seemed to find a way to make it hard on Prodos after we had some success. This time would be no exception.