Chapter 8

A few minutes before 7:am

A distressed man stands in a moving elevator. He is rapidly tapping the heels of his brand new sneakers on the metal floor and staring intently at the ever changing illuminated floor numbers.

88...89...90

Are elevators always this slow. How much longer does he have to wait. He raises his left hand and looks at the gold plated watch resting on his wrist.

6:53 Already? How did he get the news so late? Why is the game down for maintenance? And who in the world released that absurd statement without his knowledge?

Victor and that God-forsaken demon definitely had another talk without him. DIOHA games is his company! He is the game master, and he would no longer accept such treatment.

The elevator finally dings at 100 and the door slides open. He quickly gets out and starts tromping down the corridor. At the end of the corridor, a sturdy man in a black suit and black shades takes guard by the last door.

"Open the door." the man says as he approaches the guard.

The guard steps the side and the door slides open for the man to get in.

"Good day sir Marcus." The guard bows as he passes by.

Marcus does not care to give a reply. He steps into the luxurious suite, ignores the plush and extravagant layout of the small parlor and dashes straight to the bedroom.

"What the fuxk did you do this time Victor?!"

"As always Marcus, no manners." A well built man sits on the bed holding a white rimmed VR headset. He has a white towel draped over his shoulders, and he is wearing only a pair of boxers.

"You spoke to that fucking demon again without me!" Marcus says. He walks to Victor and slaps the VR set from his hands. "What are you guys changing this time?"

Victor looks irritated. "What are you taking about?"

"Don't play dumb you bastard! I won't accept it this time."

Victor exhales and looks up at Marcus, visibly annoyed. "What… the fuck are you talking about Marcus?"

Marcus glares back at Victor. Is he really ignorant? No, he cannot be. Not after all the secret meetings they have been having without him. He could accept the small periodic changes they made to the game's mechanics and the witchcraft they used to give the virtual would senses, but not this time. This was not their initial agreement.

"Why did we go offline?" Marcus finally asks.

Victor's expression morphs into confusion. "What?"

Marcus sighs and tries to calm down. Why is he still pretending? There is no way he does not have a hand in what is happening.

"We agreed the game would never go offline didn't we? We lose billions every minute."

"Are you serious?" Victor sighs, irritated once again.

"We could lose over a trillion by the time the hour is up! Besides, it's my company. My company, my game, my rules!"

"So, you barged in here with no manners, rudely interrupted my gaming time and threw stupid accusations at me just because you're losing a little money?"

Marcus is taken back by the question. What the hell is he talking about? A little money? They are losing billions and he calls it a little money?

"You little, fucking, green eyed bastard." Victor stands up from the bed, towering his full 6 foot frame over Marcus. "After all we've done for you, you have the nerve to violate my privacy and yell at me because of a little money?" Victor starts inching forward. "Well, so what? We've given you more than enough money to last a hundred lifetimes, and you still blow a fuse when you lose just a lifetime's worth?"

Marcus shrinks his shoulders and gulps hard. "We said the game would never go offline." He manages to whisper.

"Well SO WHAT? You got your wish didn't you? Even if the game shuts down now you'd be the richest man for centuries to come. And what's that about it being your game? YOUR GAME? Ungrateful piece of..."

[You have a new message.]

A transparent blue notification box pops up in front of Marcus. How? Is he in the game? Did that fucking demon put him in a simulation? Then what about the VR set Victor was holding. He looks down at the bed and instantly jumps back at the sight of the 'glitching' headset.

"Unbelievable." He mutters as the glitch dissolves into what looks like TV static mixed with mosaic. This has to be a simulation.

He then glares at Victor. "Get me out of this bloody simulation you fucking demon!"

"Have you lost your mind?" Victor asks looking confused.

The notification icon keeps blinking in front of Marcus' eyes. He does not care about what they have to say.

"I said get me out of here you bastard!!" He leaps at Victor, and throws him on the bed, then attempts to land a punch on his face, but Victor easily overpowers him and kicks him away.

"What the fuck is going on with you?"

Marcus is curled up on the bed reeling from the pain in his stomach. How is the simulation this real? When did this simulation even begin? He must still be asleep somewhere. But only Victor gets put into simulations. Why would the demon place him in a one?

Oh no! Was this meant to test his gratitude? Or is he already getting punished because the demon had already deemed him ungrateful?

He sits up and looks at the still blinking notification in front of him. Victor is waving his hands in the air and staring at the wall intently. 'What is he doing?' Marcus wonders. As a matter of fact, how does he even open the notification? He has only played the game once, and that was at its launch 8 years ago.

He just keeps staring at the message, and after a while, the icon animates open and displays its message.

[Welcome to Your New Reality.] An uncanny robotic voice reads to him. [Scanning and configuring …]

The notification is pushed up by another one that animates open immediately.

[Asset scan and configuration complete. Stand by for construction.]

Marcus wonders what the messages mean. He looks up to victor again. He now has a wide grin on his face, and he is looking directly at Marcus

"Hey demon," Marcus says. "Is this some sort of punishment for my ungratefulness?"

"Snap out of it already Marcus." Victor walks over to one of the chairs resting by the room's huge window. "Get over yourself. He doesn't care about you enough to design a simulation for you."

"Are you saying this is real life?"

"It wouldn't be the real life you are used to for much longer Marcus." Victor takes a seat. His grin seems to have gotten wider. "The dawn of a new era is upon us."

Marcus is confused. What is Victor talking about? How can this be real life? Did he not see what happened to the VR set? That was clearly a matrix glitch.

"You're going to have to forget everything you know about your life." Victor continues as he leans back on the chair. "Though I suspect your goblin claws would have a hard time …"

The building feels a slight tremor and Marcus can hear rumbling echoing outside. He then quickly leaps of the bed.

"What's going on?" He asks.

"I wonder." Victor says, then stands up from the chair and pulls the room's curtain open.

[Stand by for construction.]

Another message pops up in front of Marcus as he makes his way to the window. The sight below stuns him into position. Large circular sections in different areas of the city are enveloped in clouds of dust. The building's that occupied those sections seem to be gone, and dust and debris fills fill their spot. The dust from the collapsed buildings is seemingly kept from spreading to the unharmed areas by invisible walls, and it slowly circulates the invisible cylinders. How many people have been crushed in those ruins?

"Can you see this Marcus?" Victor asks cheerfully. "We can finally put an end to the boring lives we live!"

Marcus angrily snaps his head to Victor. "Really! Thousands of people may be dead down there and you want to give me one of your 'life is boring' speeches?"

"I didn't know any of them so I hardly see how that matters." Victor says, with the smile still plastered on his face as he looks down as the chaos.

Marcus squeezes his eyes shut and bangs his forehead on the glass. This cannot be real. This is surely a simulation. There's no way these things would be happening in real life. The first notification welcomed him to Your New Reality. That means he is definitely not in the real world.

"I don't understand." Marcus says. "Why are you so happy right now."

"Haven't you figured it out already? I thought you were smart." Victor returns to the plush armchair. "I finally got my wish Marcus. After 8 long years. I'm about to be granted the ultimate gaming challenge."

Marcus sighs and sinks to his knees. This is the worst punishment he can imagine. How would he live as a player? His mind is made up. The demon is definitely punishing him. Because of his greed and arrogance, he has been stripped of his position as the game master, and his riches are soon to leave him. As he looks at the cylindrical dust clouds rise, he wonders what the future holds for him. What would it be like living in a world with no limitations to nature?