Peace Online - India

21st Jan. 2022,

Inside a private shooting range.

A young man around 19 years old was aiming at a target with an IOF-9mm* in his hand.

'Bang! Bang! Bang!'

The sound of gunshots came as 3 consecutive shots were shot each hitting the target.

"Phew…"

The young man released a sigh. His breathing was a little rushed because of him holding his breath during shooting. He looked at the target to calculate his points.

"8 points, 8 points, 9 points…. Total 25 points… "

The young man could only smile bitterly as he calculated his score. It was like he had reached a bottleneck in his shooting.

'Sigh… It is not enough. I need to achieve at least 26 points to be confident enough in my next test…'

With a sigh, the young man retook his shooting stance. As he was concentrating on the target, the doors of the shooting range opened and an old man walked in.

Being distracted by the sound of the door opening, the young man furiously turned around ready to scold the person who just interrupted his training. But once he saw the old man, his anger disappeared and was replaced with respect as he asked,

"Dada*, what happened…?"

"Aarv babu, Your father asked for you in his office.."

The old man nicknamed Dada told Aarv. The old man used to be his father's subordinate in the army. After his retirement, Aarv's father recruited him into their house as a housekeeper but Aarv always treated the old man like his grandfather.

"Did father return early this time from his work..?"

Aarv felt puzzled. Generally, as an army officer, his father would stay away from home for months, only returning on special occasions.

"Yes, and he looked troubled by something…! You should hurry and go to his office."

Aarv felt a chill running down his spine after he learned about his father's troubled expression. He knew that something serious must have happened.

"Okay… I will go there right away..!"

Aarv hastily put his gun inside the holster and passed the holster to dada as he ran towards his dad's office.

After some time, a knocking noise was heard outside Aarv's father's office.

'Knock knock knock…'

"Come in…"

A deep voice sounded inside the room. Aarv nervously unlocked the door and walked inside his dad's office.

"Father, is there something…?"

Aarv looked at his father with respect and fear as he asked.

"Hmmm..?"

His father, major general Sudansh Bhosle looked at his son and raised his eyebrows. His angry stare sent a chill throughout Aarv's body as he saluted his father again,

"Cadet* Aarv Bhosle greets major general…"

"Hmmm… "

His father nodded at him and once again started reading through his documents. Aarv could only smile bitterly as he stood in the salute position. He forgot that his father was still in his military attire. His father specifically instructed him to do a formal military greeting when he was in military attire.

"Sigh…"

He could only wait patiently in his saluted position.

After about half an hour, his father finished reading all the documents on the desk. After confirming that he finished everything, his father looked at him and asked,

"Do you acknowledge your mistake…?"

"Sir yes sir…!"

Aarv said with a strong voice.

"Hmmm… relax…"

Then only Aarv put his trembling hand down and relaxed. The major general felt happy about his son's discipline.

He took a document from a drawer and passed it toward Aarv.

"Take a look at this."

Aarv took the document from his father's hand and looked at the first page. 'Top Secret' were the words written on the document.

"This…?"

He looked at his father with a questioning gaze. Military hierarchy restricted certain documents to be accessed by important people only. Such documents were labelled as 'Top Secret' and were not allowed to spread among irrelevant people. If someone is caught while leaking these documents, losing their job will be the least of their worries.

Looking at his son's questioning gaze, the major general explained,

"These documents were top secret a month ago…. From tomorrow onwards, these documents will become public knowledge."

Hearing that these documents will be public, Aarv released a sigh as he opened the document. The first thing he saw was a giant pigeon symbol with the words 'Peace Online' written right below it.

'A VRMMORPG game…?'

Aarv felt puzzled as he looked at his father for more explanation.

"This is the future. The United Nations decided to end all real-world combat and take it to virtual reality. From tomorrow onwards virtual reality will become the real battlefield for various countries to fight out with one another and solve their disputes."

Aarv felt shocked after he heard his father's explanation. He knew that in recent years some countries started to put pressure on their neighbouring countries. By taking all the conflict inside the virtual world the United Nations was saving people from the upcoming wars.

"Not only that but the game will be played in the Iron age. Where there are only cold weapons available to fight with one another."

The more major generals explained, the happier he got. Aarv was able to see mad enthusiasm in his father's eyes. His father was a war fanatic. With this game, Aarv could imagine his father entering the battlefield once again with a massive army before him.

"This… but wouldn't this just give all the superpowers massive advantage?"

Be it in terms of technology or research, all the superpowers were much more advanced than the rest of the countries of the world. Aarv feared that these countries would take advantage of the game to toy with other countries.

"There is no advantage for anyone inside peace online. Every country will start from the iron age and proceed from there. There is also a twist, where people can nurture supernatural powers inside the game."

Major general Sudansh's eyes flashed with a strange light as he said the last sentence. But he soon changed the topic.

"Remember your mission is to build your territory inside the game and obtain as many hidden pieces as possible. Our whole family's future depends on our progress in this game."

Aarv could see his father's hopeful expression. He could only say,

"We will father, don't worry."

Major general looked at his son and nodded while saying,

"Remember to read the document thoroughly. Our, as well as Our country's future, depends on the game."

"Yes sir…!"

Aarv saluted his father before leaving the office. He was curious about this new game which supposedly can change the world.