The Last Day

May 22nd, 2130, Earth

Kary woke up this morning feeling great. She felt like her body was fit as a fiddle. She hadn't been this energized for years. She jumped in the shower to wash-up before her mother-daughter day. She felt the water was cold in the shower and had to completely close the cold water before feeling cozy.

'' Guess the water heater broke again '' She said, shrugging it off.

Once her shower finished she got dressed and went downstairs to get breakfast. Her mother was still at the table, watching the news.

'' Good morning mom '' Kary gleefully said.

'' Good morning to you too sweetie. How was your game yesterday? '' Her mother asked.

'' It was super fun. I'm sorry for playing so long, I couldn't leave right away, I was stuck in a quest '' she answered with a big smile. She then kissed her mother on the cheek and sat down to eat a bowl of cereals.

'' Well you seem chipper this morning. Did you get good news that you aren't telling me? ''

'' No mom, I just feel really good this morning '' Kary smiled

'' Well if your game makes you this happy, I don't mind you playing as much. Maybe I should even start playing myself '' her mother said, half-jokingly. '' I might even have to pull my old equipment back out from the storage unit Haha '' she added whilst laughing.

'' Do you mean that old platform with cables and a VR headset? '' Kary asked incredulously.

'' Yes I mean that. It was very high-end technology back when I was your age honey '' her mother said with a smile.

'' Nevermind mom. If you really want to play this game, you'll need a pod. I doubt that old junk is compatible with it at all. Plus you'll have to learn from scratch. Even if the controls are very body like, there is still some adaptation period ''

'' I get it, you don't want you old mom to play with you. I respect that honey ''

" You know what mom, forget everything I said. Let's go shopping for a pod and buy you the game. When you have time you could enter it and contact me so we can play together " Kary said, smiling ear to ear.

" I like the sound of that " answered her mother with a tinge of pure happiness in her eyes.

Looking back at the screen in the kitchen, Kary's mother looked a little worried. When Kary turned her head to the screen, the news banner said that her neighborhood's archon reactor had let out a warning today but the managers of the plant said that everything was under control.

'' I hope nothing happens '' Her mother said, slightly worried.

'' Don't worry mom, they said everything was fine. They wouldn't lie if lives were in danger, would they? ''

'' You're probably right honey. I'm worried for nothing '' She answered, going back to a smile.

They both continued eating breakfast whilst talking about their shopping intentions. After eating, they washed their plates and left for the mall. Taking a hover cab, they got there safe and sound in less than 10 minutes.

Their day was started off with a bit off wandering in the clothes shops and then they went to eat at noon. Their plan was to finish eating, go to the game store, buy a gaming pod and a copy of 'Sword of Fantasy' before going back home to set her mother up. After choosing her pod model, they took the express shipping with installation option and paid. That way, by the time they got home, everything would have been installed by bots. Since the pods were government-issued, they were rarely installed by humans, as to make sure no fiddling was done in the pod settings.

On their way out of the mall, they stopped at an ice cream shop and got 2 cones for their trip back home. They got back into a hover cab and flew back home. Once they were back, they went to check on the pod installation. Everything looked perfect. Kary went up to the pod and opened up the settings window. She linked her pod ID as chaperon pod. She explained to her mother that it was to help her start-up since she wasn't used to the new interface. Her mother simply smiled. She then sat in the pod as per instructions, to get scanned and neuro-linked to it. That would keep anyone else from going into the pod settings and mess it up. Anyone who didn't match her brain waves would be denied access, except for the chaperon ID's brain waves.

Kary inserted the game, told her mother to wait for her, then she closed the pod, checked to make sure it sealed and booted the game. She then ran to her own room, jumped into her pod and launched the game too. When she appeared in the game, instead of appearing in the empty field she disconnected from, she appeared in the character screen from her mother's interface. She could see her mother choose her class and name but couldn't interfere.

Then they both turned into white light and reappeared on a beach near the ocean.

'' Huh, why did I get an empty field, and you get a beach near the ocean '' Kary curiously asked her mom.

'' This is a memory, honey '' her mother answered. Kary could see tears welling up in her eyes.

'' Are you okay mom? '' she asked.

'' Yes honey. Don't worry about it '' her mother answered, wiping away her tears. '' This is where I met your father '' She added solemnly.

Kary didn't answer. She didn't know what to say. She had barely known her father. He had died in an accident when she was very young. She could no longer even remember what he looked like. Her mother had removed all the pictures of him, as she couldn't bear the pain of seeing him.

'' The system asked me if I wanted to take you on my beginner trial mission. Should I say yes? '' her mother then asked.

'' It's up to you, do you think you can do it alone? '' Kary responded, a smile forming on the corner of her lips.

'' I'm not that much of an amateur Kary '' said her mother, a bit flustered.

" I know mine was hard, but I read on the forums that each quest was different. I could just accompany you to make sure you don't die ''

'' Okay. That's a good idea '' Her mom said confidently.

They then both teleported again. As she was expecting, Kary and her mother didn't end up in a burning village. Instead, they were in a forest. The sun was shining through the branches and the birds were flying about. Kary could see the mission progress bar in her own interface. What she read on it ticked her off.

'' What kind of easy quest is this. Hunt and kill 3 wolves? Did you just get handed a starter quest for kids by the game? What a scam! '' Kary exclaimed.

She then turned to her mother and saw what class she had taken. She was stunned. Her mother was standing there in small chain mail, a broad ax in her hand. She had missed her class pick because her mother hovered all of them before picking one so fast, Kary's eyes couldn't even follow her hand.

'' You picked the berserker class? What are you, a warmonger? " She asked, with a tone of craziness.

'' What? '' her mother answered. " I used to love going all-in in fighting games before you were born. Nothing feels better than to win from the verge of death '' She added, a huge smile hanging on her face.

Not knowing what to say, Kary simply decided to focus on the quest. She and her mother both started tracking the wolves in the forest. As soon as they found one, they ended in a sticky situation. Kary had to intervene pretty quickly, as her mother was swinging her ax around so carelessly that the wolf could easily dance around her. It would have been a quick death for her mother, had Kary not jumped in when she did.

After that incident, her mother started getting used to the controls. They found the tracks for another wolf. This time her mother promised herself to handle it alone. When they finally found the wolf, Kary's mother played it a lot more carefully. Each time she swung her big ax, she would get closer and closer to hitting her target.

Kary smiled. She never would have thought her mom would catch on so quickly. Even though the controls were really player friendly, one still needed time to get used to them. Especially her mother, who hadn't played a game in years. But everything was going fine.

When her mother felt she had gotten good enough to fell the beast, she bore an evil smile. She dashed out to the wolf, not letting him time to react, swung her ax upwards, nearly beheading the poor creature. Had it not jumped back in time, it would have lost it precious head. Unfortunately for it, that's exactly what the woman had wanted. With the momentum of the dash and upward swing, all she had to do was shift her body a little bit to change the angle of the ax to a side swing, which she spun a whole turn, before chopping the wolf in the belly, instantly cutting him in half.

* CLAP CLAP CLAP *

Kary was impressed. She had never thought her mother to be such an ingenious and vicious fighter. She kinda liked that new side of her.

" Well done mom. I think you no longer need my help. Want me to go back and let you finish this quest alone? " she asked with a big smile.

" No, you can stay sweetie. I like having you around. It makes me feel safe. That way I know I can go all out and be reckless '' her mother said while smiling back with a playful expression.

" Haha, okay. I don't mind being your support " Kary said with a laugh.

At the same time, in the real world. Archon reactor plant.

" Sir! The energy levels are reaching a critical point. We need to warn the citizens for immediate evacuation "

" No! I refuse to give up now. I know in my gut there is a way to fix this "

" Sir!! "

" No Sirs. Get back to work and find me a way to keep this reactor from blowing up. Should I remind you that all our families live in this city? "

" Yes Sir! " the man grumbled. He sat back down at his console and scoured every possible solution in the hope that one would work.

A little while after, back in the game.

As Kary was helping her mother track the last wolf, they both got an alert in their interfaces. It was the pod signaling an abnormal energy fluctuation. They both thought that maybe the power had gone down in their house. It didn't really matter, as the pods themselves were equipped with mini archon reactors as emergency power cells. They closed the alert window and kept walking. Only a few seconds after, another alert popped up. This time, the pod detected a dangerously high energy pulse. It recommended to log out and seek shelter or brace for a possibly prolonged gaming session, as the cabin would go into lockdown. But only Kary had 2 options. Her mothers alert said to quickly log out and seek shelter as the cabin's lockdown function had been affected by the energy pulse.

" Maybe we should logout " Kary nervously said to her mother.

" No honey. I'm sure we'll be fine. We'll just be forced to play longer that's all. let's enjoy it while it lasts "her mother said joyfully.

" Are you sure mom? " Kary asked. She had a bad feeling about this.

" Yes yes. Come on, we still have a wolf to kill. Let's not waste time " her mother replied, smiling gleefully.

Kary had a bad feeling about this, but her mother said it was fine so she trusted her. Only, her mother had already understood the situation. When she got the first alert, she instantly remembered the morning news. She knew what had happened. When she saw the second alert, she understood that the archon reactor had blown up. When she realized that she couldn't reach shelter, even if she logged out now, and that her cabin was not going to lockdown, she knew she had to keep her daughter thinking everything was fine. So she acted fine and chipper.

A few seconds later, while they were bent down, tracking their prey, Kary's mom got another alert. It said that a heatwave had been detected in the vicinity and to brace for impact. It gave a countdown of 15 seconds. Kary didn't get that one since her pod had already initiated lockdown mode, and had estimated the survival of its occupant at 95%. Looking at the countdown reach 10 seconds, her mother got up and hugged her. She softly said in her ear " I love you. Be safe "

" I love you too mom, but why so suddenly say that " asked Kary, pushing her mother away.

Her mother was simply looking at her, tears rolling off of her face. She then turned to light and disappeared.

" Mom? Mom!? " Kary panicked.

She was automatically thrown out of the quest since it wasn't hers. She quickly checked her friends' list and saw her mother as disconnected. Only, she couldn't log off herself. When she tried, her pod sent her a message explaining the lockdown measures implemented and their reasons. As she read the message, Kary turned white as blood drained from her face. She dropped to her knees, understanding what her mother said and what had happened.

She cried. Just in a matter of minutes, she had become an orphan.