Black Sun (Phantom Server: Book #3) (8 page)

Level 29. Exobiologist.

He'd done some nice leveling in the meantime! He stood tall and proud. I could barely recognize the Colonial fleet lieutenant who had once sat sobbing on the edge of that fetid alien swamp.

“Hi, man,” I said. “Great to see you. You haven’t wasted your time.”

“The Exobiologists sector on Argus only looks looted,” he added, openly pleased with the effect. “There’s actually a lot of interesting stuff still left over there.”

“Everyone ready?” Arbido interrupted us. Same old, same old. He was too used to bossing everyone around to drop the habit overnight.

“No point in waiting for Frieda,” Jurgen fidgeted with the wedding ring on his finger. “She’s with the kids. Why did you want to see us? Just keep it short. We have too many things to do.”

“They can wait,” Arbido grumbled. He scrambled down his seat and began pacing the room. What an unfortunate avatar, being stuck in the body of a puny goblin. Not that he’d had much say in the matter.

Unexpectedly for everyone, Charon rose, grabbed Arbido with his long scaly arms and lifted him in the air, perching the old man on the back of a seat. “Now we can see you well,” he barked. “Speak up.”

Arbido paused, gathering his wits. “I know many of you won’t like it but I’m absolutely sure the game developers are still fucking us around!” he blurted out.

I watched the others’ reactions.

Foggs listened closely. Ralph waved Arbido’s suggestion away. Jurgen got predictably angry,

“Didn’t Zander prove to us all last night that our identities have been transported via the interstellar network while our physical bodies are about to croak in the in-mode capsules back on Earth?

“I don’t believe it,” my ex-employer snapped. “There are no Founders. There is no interstellar network. They keep using us as guinea pigs, as simple as that! And Earth must be thriving!”

Jurgen rose from his seat. “Novitsky, have you got any downers? He obviously could use some. Let’s go, Zander. We’re wasting our time.”

“Jurgen, wait,” I said. “Let Arbido speak.”

Unlike the others, I knew the old man well. He could always offer a realistic view of any situation, however peculiar it might seem at first.

“Just let him keep to the point,” Jurgen fumed. “Did he gather us here to whine?
He doesn’t believe it!
What a drama queen!”

“I’ve spent my entire life in the real world!” Arbido snapped. “Trust me: the biggest gaming corporation on Earth couldn’t have just gone bankrupt overnight! It’s bullshit! Whatever Zander saw there — all those deserted cities and such — I doubt! They could have shown him whatever they wanted!”

Arbido pointed a gnarly finger at Charon. “So you think he’s a
‘Sentient Xenomorph’
? And who am I, then?”

“Nothing human, by the looks of it,” Ralph chuckled.

“Exactly! They made me whatever they wanted me to be! So what makes you think that Charon is an alien? What’s the difference between him and myself? And what have the Founders technologies got to do with it?”

“Good question,” Foggs suddenly agreed. “Listen, guys, he might be right. All those who logged in via the Second Colonial Fleet, their in-modes seem to be fine. They’re perfectly healthy. Their Physical Energy is in the green. How do you explain this? What if the admins are indeed applying pressure to you? What if they’re busy creating the world’s history and testing new technologies? Liori’s avatar is made of nanites. Arbido is stuck within this fantasy char...”

“So how do the dying children fit into this picture?” Jurgen turned pale with fury. “It’s all theory! And we need solutions!”

“That’s exactly what I’m about to offer,” Arbido scowled. “For those who don’t know, I used to have a gaming business. I spent my entire life building it. I used to rush chars. I had my employees planted in all sorts of worlds. I supplied some very special artifacts. I had a whole shedful of top programmers working for me. Just to give you the idea, I could supply firearms to fantasy worlds, provided the price was right,” he cast me an evil eye. “Let Zander be my witness. He knows.”

“So how did you end up here?” Foggs asked.

Arbido frowned. “I was caught where I shouldn’t have been.”

“Which was where?” Jurgen demanded.

“I take it, you’ve all been to the Crystal Sphere? Apart from Charon, of course,” Arbido added sarcastically. “This was,” he sounded businesslike again, “a young world with great potential. I had some very interesting goings-on developing there. I did it my usual way: I collected intel before going big. I bought some insider information from players, I studied hidden locations and their potential access routes. I looked into unique plot lines. The moment I’d found out that the Corporation was about to make neuroimplants obligatory for all players, I had one installed too.”

“So how did you get burned?” Ralph asked.

“Curiosity killed the cat, so they say. I decided to check out Phantom Server. I was wondering why players kept going missing. The corporate bosses didn’t like it, apparently,” he shuddered. The memories of endlessly going through the Gehenna respawn purgatory must have still been vivid.

“Are you going to get to the point?” Jurgen asked, losing patience.

“”Are you going to “

“That’s what I’m talking about!” Arbido fidgeted, stooping — he didn’t feel comfortable being the center of attention. He wasn’t used to it. “When I collected the intel on the Crystal Sphere, I was tipped off about one very interesting location. Apparently, there was a secret path that started in the newb zone. No one knew where it would take you. I sent my man to investigate — and it turned out that the path came out directly at the Corporation testing grounds!”

“Into the real world, you mean?” Jurgen sounded puzzled.

“Exactly. Only I never used it. I don’t shit on my own doorstep.”

“So!” Foggs grinned. “That gets interesting!”

“How can we access these service locations?” Liori asked.

“The access is at the low-level starting zone,” Arbido replied. “The one in the European sector.”

I got angry. “Why didn’t you tell me before?”

“When was I supposed to tell you?” Arbido snapped again. “You’re constantly busy, either rescuing Liori or fucking off to Darg on the hybrid’s quests or whatever!”

I stood up. “I beg your pardon!”

“It doesn’t matter,” Arbido added appeasingly. “Until last night, this information was purely academic.”

“You mean until I overrode the logout ban?”

“You got it. But I can’t do much while my body’s stuck in the capsule. The Corporation must have blocked all communications. If only I could get into the Crystal Sphere! You understand, don’t you, that we have nothing left to lose. We have no other options. But I, I still have connections in the real world. They’ll get us out of here, trust me, and no one will ever bother us again.”

Frowning, Jurgen glared at Arbido. “But what if the Founders’ network does exist? What if what Zander saw was true?”

“Then we’ll find out what exactly happened back on Earth and try to recharge our in-modes,” Arbido replied.

“But why the Crystal Sphere?” Jurgen asked. Sarcasm had now left his voice.

“Because I know how to log in inconspicuously. We’ll check it and if we see that it’s functioning normally, I’ll be able to pull a few strings. And if things are indeed so bad, at least we can get to the service location. I have some very interesting software that I bought by chance from a Corporate worker.”

Jurgen frowned. “You want to say that you managed to memorize megabytes of code?”

“Of course I didn’t. You’re dead right there. I need to get to my in-mode first. But as far as I understand, it’s not a problem anymore, is it?”

Mechanically I touched the artifact hanging on a thin chain around my neck.

This was a truly mind-blowing development. Still, Arbido’s arguments made sense. We needed time: both to level up our skills and to build our own identity-digitization device. If we managed to replace our in-modes’ life support cartridges, we would have it.

“There’s never a dull moment with you!” Foggs exclaimed in excitement. “Count me in! Actually, I have two questions.”

“Spit them out.”

“If indeed shit has hit the fan back on Earth, wouldn’t that bring game worlds down too?”

“The Crystal Sphere would work no matter what,” Arbido replied confidently. “The Corporation has its equipment located in special bunkers. It has several disaster-proof backups which are powered by independent supply sources. You couldn’t have found a better way to access our planet’s cyberspace if you tried. That’s why we need to log in to it,” he repeated.

It looked like the old man was right. There was also another argument in favor of our using the Crystal Sphere. None of us seemed to question the fact that it had been the testing ground of the first neuroimplants. Which meant that the Crystal Sphere’s engine had been adapted to their use. For us, it was a huge advantage.

Oh, yes. A lot of things had finally revealed themselves to us in their true light. I could have sworn that the three Dargians I’d met in the Crystal Sphere as well as the Mechanic in a slave collar were nothing but NPCs: a well-calculated setup aiming to draw my attention to Phantom Server.

“Jurgen?” I turned to him. “What do you think?”

“It might work,” he answered without hesitation.

“But how about the technical side of it? You think we can pull it off?”

“We might if we managed to activate the Relic’s hyperspace module,” he said. “Do you remember me telling you about Argus’ central respawn point?”

“I think so. Didn’t you use the station’s locator tower to redirect the respawning pilots to Founders Square?”

“Exactly. You can call it the first case of mass identity transfer. So I have some experience in this field. We’ll have to fine-tune a thing or two, of course. I’m pretty sure the Founders used to travel in groups too. We’ll try and automate the entire process but it would be safer if each of you who goes to Earth has his or her own navigator. You think you can make a few more?”

“I can help,” Liori offered. “Together we can do it. But how do you want us to decrypt these icons?” she pointed at the symbols covering the outer ring of the device. “This seems to be an input panel but I’ve never seen most of the signs!”

“Danezerath knows!” Charon growled. “He’ll help you! The programs controlling our
yrobs
are written in the Founders’ language. I want to go with you too,” he added, curt as usual.

“Very well. We’ll start small,” I glanced at Arbido. “Are you ready?”

He turned pale. “Already? Just like that? Don’t you want to make any preparations first?”

“You’re the one who asked for it. No point dragging it out. The artifact has been tested. All you need to do is connect to your in-mode while Jurgen downloads the data.”

“Wait a sec,” Jurgen motioned me to stop. “I’d rather we wait till Danezerath comes back. That’ll also give me some time to get some equipment ready. I’d like to copy the navigator’s settings. That might help me work out the Relic’s communications module.”

“All right. It’s up to you. When will the Haash be back?”

“They still have about an hour’s journey back.”

“In that case, Liori and I will start making the artifacts. Foggs, I want you to billet your men in the meantime. Don’t meet Manticore representatives quite yet. Let them stew in their own juice.”

“And I? What do you want me to do?” Novitsky asked, apparently impressed with the proceedings. The decisions we’ve just made seemed to have left the young player in some awe.

A simultaneous hyper jump of several digitized identities was indeed a risky step born of our desperation. Still, the chance to service our in-modes and find out whatever had happened back on Earth was worth it.

“I have a special task for you,” I said. “Have you ever used street vending machines?”

I was already beginning to plan our future course of action in case of our success. Arbido shouldn’t hold his breath. I hadn’t dreamed up all those deserted cities and decomposing bodies.

“Sure. They’re everywhere, aren’t they?”

“Then you know, don’t you, that they use the principle of molecular replication?”

“Yeah, why?”

“I’d like you to write down the formulas of the most potent metabolites you know. Then check the Exo Clan’s databases and make a list of chemicals required to replicate them. Think you can do that?”

“I’ll try. Can I come with you?”

“I don’t think so. It’s a trip for those who have nothing to lose.”

“Yeah, right. How about Charon, then?”

“That’s his decision. Please don’t argue. At the moment, you’re the only exobiologist on board the Relic. We need you here. Understood?”

“All right,” he grudgingly agreed. “But what if you don’t come back?” he blurted out.

This question got me thinking.

Liori? Need to talk.

* * *