Freezing Shadows, Chapter 22

Chapter 22: Interview 2

“Hi hi, everybody! KarmaDesu here! How are all my Karma Klubbies? You know I love all of you gals! Now, I got a special treat for everyone here! We’re coming to you from inside MetaGame’s big new game, Shadowmen, and talking with one of the up and coming players, the ever-scrumptious Iceblade!”

This was my second interview in the game. Unlike last time, where the avatar was of a slightly overweight guy with a bushy beard, wearing a plaid shirt and denim overalls, this interviewer was going for the bubbly pop princess route. If the princess was a foxgirl. Amazingly, the company had managed to rig a custom avatar for her that looked very nice.

Karma looked over at me with a smile that was only mostly for the camera. “So, Iceblade, you’ve been making a name for yourself in this game, even back in the Beta, when you were called the Mysterious Seattle Man, because no one could figure out who you were. How did you keep things a secret?”

“That’s easy, Karma. First, I haven’t used my real face for any of my characters. That makes it impossible for people to try and capture images of me, and compare them to real-world pictures using image search software. There’s too much difference. And before you start saying I’m paranoid, that is exactly what happened to the other men in the beta, and they had stalkers showing up at their homes, as if that would somehow get those girls a husband, instead of a visit to the local precinct.”

“Sure, but there has to be more to it than that, right? When I was looking through the forums for research, I noticed several threads where people were complaining that you had to be falsifying your play time, since there was no way you could be on so long. At one point, weren’t you logged in for almost a month straight?”

“Actually, it was six months, and no, those times weren’t falsified.”

“But how? Even the deluxe immersion pods don’t allow you to be online for more than a couple days at a time. And there are safety cutouts so you can’t do virtual reality while walking around.”

“That’s simple, Karma. While it is true that I was busy testing the game for bugs and ‘pain points’ during the beta, I was also testing a new type of pod for MetaTech, MetaGame’s parent company, but couldn’t talk about it until after the NDA period, which coincided with the start of the game’s official service.”

“Ooh, you got to test out a new pod? What kind is it? Any deets you can share with us?”

“Yeah, some elements are still under wraps, since testing is ongoing, but I can tell you that it is basically a beefed-up version of the standard Valkyrie Full Immersion Pod. I’m sure it will get a proper name before long, but right now they’re calling it the Valkyrie Valhalla, and is designed to have immersion times of up to a year.”

“So, sounds like this Valkyrie is taking you to another world, a bit more literally than before?”

“You could say that, Karma. Of course, this isn’t designed as a pure gaming pod. It has all the life support functions you might expect, to keep you from just withering away or lying in your filth during that year. Shocks to keep the muscles from atrophying, and stuff like that. But it wasn’t made with gamers in mind.”

“Well, if not gamers, then who?”

“Well, it was designed as a medical pod. Basically, someone has a traumatic injury or illness that means they’d be unable to function normally in the real world? The Valhalla will let them walk again. Just like it is letting me walk again.”

The catch of breath as Karma gasped was genuine, I could see it in her eyes. She hadn’t been expecting that. “So, back in the real world?”

“Let’s just say I was in a bad accident, and lost my legs, just above the knee. When I’m out of the pod, I’m basically limited to rolling myself around in a chair, and just using the toilet is a workout. Let me tell you, you don’t know how much just being able to sit on the toilet without making a whole ordeal out of it means, until you’re trying to haul yourself out of a chair and swing yourself around onto the seat. But, with the pod, I’m able to be ‘normal’.”

“Woah, that got heavy, fast. But the medical pod is helping?”

“Oh, yeah,” I nodded. “That, and the therapists. One of the best things MetaTech did was ensuring that there were ‘real life’ counselors you could contact in game, if you needed to. That and being able to walk helps a ton.”

“Well, that’s good, then.” There was still some concern on her face, but she was a professional, and pushed through. “So, now that the game’s in full swing, your name has come up as one of the high-fliers on the Seattle server, even while most players tend to get sent for a respawn within a couple days, at most. What’s your secret?”

I chuckled, and let the conversation shift. DIdn’t really want to talk about therapy to an audience, either. “No real secret, Karma. This game isn’t a looter shooter or your murderhobo MMO experience. You aren’t the chosen one, and if you play like that, then you’re going to have people answer you at muzzle velocity.”

Leaning forward, I grinned. “Once I mastered the fine art of not being a jackass, I started looking for opportunities. This is a living world, and there are no quest markers or anything like that. So, you need to go out in the world, and find opportunities, or make them.

“Day one, I was in a little convenience store. One of those gas station sized places that has a little bit of everything, you know? I walk in the door, check the place out. Noted another person who looked like a Shadowman, even if she wasn’t carrying all her weapons on her. Like knows like, you see? Didn’t know if she was a player or not, but I kept note of her, since she would either be backup or my first target if something went down.”

“You went in expecting trouble?”

“This is a living world. Always best to expect trouble. Not saying you should go shaking in your boots, or walk around with your emotional support grenade launcher, but you learn to mark the exits, and size up the people you meet, deciding whether they’re a threat or not, and how much of a threat they are. Most of the time, nothing happens, and you’re just getting good practice in. When something does happen, though? You’re ready.

“Which is what happened when a car bomb went off outside. Three guys roll up, weapons in hand. Street toughs, but guns are guns. The woman I’d spotted goes straight to the action. Couple quick bursts of her submachine gun, and two of them go down, starting with the guy who wasn’t wearing any armor.”

“Do you know why they went for the unarmored person first?”

“Sure. Basic threat assessment, see? If you see three guys walk in with guns, one has a bulky bulletproof vest, another is wearing something that looks like an armored coat, and the last guy isn’t wearing anything more than normal clothes? Either that last guy is drugged out and crazy, which makes them a problem, or they have something going on that means they don’t need armor, like magic, which makes them a problem. One of the maxims in the game is ‘geek the mage first’.”

“Geek?”

“Slang for killing them. Point is, two of three are already down at the start, because that woman was ready. Last guy gets a couple shots off, but they don’t do shit to her armor. Then I take him out with my sword, and it is all done and dusted.

“We started looting the bodies, but this lady who was apparently the target came up to us, wailing baby in her arms, and asked if we could help her. We go to a nearby parking garage, because sticking around to chat at the scene of a crime is just asking for trouble. Along the way, the other shadowman, Berzerker, confirms with me that we’re both players, so we decide working together is the smart play. Get to the parking garage, and the lady gives us some details about her situation, and what she wants, and we figure there’s money to be made, so we take the job.

“But the job isn’t something you just do with two people. Not if you want it done right, and not if you like having a good chance of still being breathing long enough to get paid. So, while Berzerker got a few rooms at a sleezy hotel so we could keep our employer out of sight while we did the job, I made a call to one of my contacts, and got a few names.

“That was a bit of matchmaking, as my NPC contact found players to send my way. Other players, with different specialties, to fill the gaps in our roster. They’re all solid girls, who were willing to listen and make solid additions to the plan. I won’t talk too much about what we did, or to who, but we made out with good money from that job, and everyone was fine, because we had a good plan, more than enough people, and went hard. Everyone agreed that the run went smooth as silk, so we decided to stick together as a permanent team.”

Karma nodded. “I get it, I totally do. When you’re in the zone, and everything just goes right, things seem easy, but that’s only because you’re prepared, right?”

“Exactly.”

“So, any juicy gossip? I mean, if these other players on your team are all women, surely you’ve thought about having more fun than just shooting NPCs together, right?”

I grinned as I leaned forward, looking her in the eye. “Karma, you wouldn’t be asking a gentleman to kiss and tell, would you?”

She returned the grin. “Of course not. That’s why I’m asking you. From the forums, it seems you had a lot of fun during the Beta.”

I chuckled at that. “Well, why not? You’ve seen what the world is like out there. Sharing a guy is steadily becoming the norm. Most women are completely starved for male companionship that isn’t a direct blood relative, to say nothing of actually getting laid. There’s a reason why more than a few girls have gotten a ‘day job’ in the game as sex workers of one type or another. Most of them will probably find a way to get out of it, once the shine wears off, but still.” I shrugged.

“Anyways, in the beta, you could say that we had a responsibility to test out every possible interaction to make sure everything worked correctly, right? So, it would have been irresponsible of me, and those other testers, not to throw ourselves into the work. If that testing happened to be rather enjoyable, well, that’s just a bonus, no?”

“A very convenient truth,” she chuckled. “So, not going to dish on your teammates?”

“Well, here’s the thing, Karma. I’m perfectly fine with letting people know everything I’ve been doing. After all, a healthy man going around and getting what he can is pretty much expected, in this day and age. However, I’m not going to name names or give all the lovely details that may or may not exist without first talking it over with the people involved. I’ve found it wise to avoid doing things to that may piss off women who have access to lots of guns and the skills to use them. I’d rather not get sent for a reroll because I was running my mouth, you know?”

“Fair enough. So, what is next for you, Iceblade?”

“Live my life in this digital world, take jobs, get paid, and just have fun.”