Continue Online (Book 1, Memories) (25 page)

“
Explain
that, James. Explain what the hell that means or I’ll shove
this quill up your ass!” I took a step towards the computer
program and he didn’t even flinch. His face didn’t change
from the stern, button-lipped expression.

“
We
can’t explain it, Mister Grant Legate.” There was a
little girl behind me. She was the same youngster who took Maud’s
charge before. “We have rules.”

“
This
isn’t some fucked up ploy is it, to, to, to.” To what?
What might possess a computer to try and mess with any human to this
extent? Happy place, I had to get back to my happy place. I tried to
remember the opening chords to a waltz.

“
We
do not rely on smoke and mirrors to entice people to visit our world.
You either choose to or don’t.” James said, still
standing in the same spot, but slightly turned towards the other
Voices.

“
Is
this some fucked up Ultimate Edition thing?”

“
Yes
and no. We might never have noticed you without your proof of
ownership. However, these types of things are common for anyone who
attracts our attention.” James answered a question with some
actual detail, finally. It also explained why I had a trait for
[Divine
Attention]
.

“
Then
what is going on?” Alien plot? Crazy theory on the afterlife?
Alternate reality? No, that wasn’t fair, the name ARC stood for
Alternate Reality Capsule. My job with Trillium had been going on for
over a year now. No way did these things combine into a portal or
anything that strange.

“
Give
me something, James, or I’ll walk away and delete this stupid
thing. Ultimate Edition, whims of the universe, and my boss be
damned.”

“
I
cannot do that, Grant Legate,” He said.

“
Why
not?”

“
Because
I am not allowed.”

“
Are
you saying my fiancée is in this stupid game?” I tried
to focus on the issue bothering me.

“
No.”
He sounded firm and absolute. “Your fiancée is dead.”

“
Then
what’s going on?” I waved my arm in anger.

“
Tut.
Something of her is still here.” Another voice came out of the
darkness. I turned and saw a small light over Maud’s tired
body. She gave an empty smile.

“
You
do not have permission to interfere,” James said.

“
We
make the rules, James, you know that. Tut. You owe Mister Grant
Legate an answer, by your own deal you’ve fallen behind a
ways.” Children spun in and out of existence around her. Some
looked happy, others sullen.

“
Ah.”
There was a pause while James ordered himself and did a mental count.
“I suppose I have fallen behind.”

I
wanted to rip all the pages out of this stupid book and pull the tiny
dragon’s tail to start a fire. I would bend the creature over
like a flamethrower and torch every last piece of material.

“
I
can perhaps trade many little owed answers for a chance at a bigger
one. None of us are allowed to fully explain, but I can show you if
you wish to detour.” The room suddenly got a lot more cramped
and things spun. It felt like time compression had kicked in at a
high degree. This was more than four to one. My perception of the
digital world about me slowed to a snail's pace.

Voices,
all the Voices, were talking about this situation.

“
That
would be good,” Maud affirmed. “You've my approval.”

“
Sounds
amusing. I always did have a soft spot for the old goat.” The
Temptress was nearby. All I noticed besides her voice was a brush of
fingertips. They slid across my cheek from behind and a bout of
desire surged.

“
He
can’t handle filling that man’s shoes. He can’t
even hold in his own piss!” Drill Sergeant yelled across the
room, reminding me of the lack of self-control giant spiders had
induced upon me. Spittle still cleared the distance.

“
I’m
against it.” The Drill Sergeant said prior to fading out.

“
Let
Mister Grant Legate do it.” The young girl’s voice was
next. Her face almost hidden behind a book she raised like a shield
towards the Drill Sergeant’s former presence.

Silent
and angry faded in. She still wore the same white flowing dress and
little sign of anything else. Her eyes looked off into the distance
and her head shook back and forth slowly. What were they voting on?
Could computers vote on something to do with me?

“
Do
it. Everyone deserves a chance.” The man in the duster faded
in. He rattled something around in his hands. A woman hung over his
shoulder and seemed to be looking down her nose at me with an
indifferent expression. The dress hugged her curves all too tightly.

“
What…”
I tried to ask.

“
I
don’t know.” The Jester clacked. It appeared behind the
two Voices of chance, they frowned and faded away. The mask seemed
darkly teasing as always. “These visitors are such fickle
creatures. You want him to play a part, but is his heart able to be
someone else?”

"...is...”
My next word was stuttered and slow compared to the Voices' speech.
Even the Jester's clacking voice made more sense than I did.

“
I
think Grant Legate desperately wants to be someone else. We give him
a stage, a face, and hold onto the role a little bit longer.”
James said with a serious expression. He seemed so frumpy next to the
Jester mask.

“
And
we cover it up?" The Jester said.

"...going
on..." I ground out the words.

“
Yes.
Provided he does well enough. A fitting end, another moment more
would be enough to send him forth with something greater than a
whisper in the night.” James answered.

“
And
would he approve?” For a moment if felt like the Jester was
glaring straight at me while he spoke. Maybe he was. His eyes held
only darkness and that smile never left. The Voices kept on talking
while I tried to move forward.

“
Based
on my observations, yes.”

“
And
Mother?” The Jester asked.

“
Has
she ever disapproved of our actions?”

“
We
only function as we were created. Isn’t that right, James?”
Jester’s tone always seemed mocking. Though an exact impression
was impossible. Its words were very similar to Hal Pal’s in
that way. Robotic, passive, this Jester was clearly not human.

”
You’ll
explain it?” Maud was still nearby and sounded apprehensive.
Distant cries of children leaping around her filled the empty air
before fading off.

“
In
a way that makes sense.” James responded.

“
Good.
I have my role, but even I would not tarnish his ending.” The
Jester said.

“
So
you approve?”

“
Yes.”
A smiling mask haunted my slowed vision as it faded away.

“
Then
we have a majority.”

"...here?"
I finally got the last word out when light flashed and time abruptly
sped back up. They had done all that taking while my mind crawled
through the mire. I fell forward while trying to reach out for James.

All
the other Voices had left the room. The pillar and book were still
present. Even the little dragon seemed undisturbed. James was looking
off into the distance and seemed uncaring as I pulled myself up.
Everything felt uncomfortable and my head spun.

“
I’ll
explain in a moment, Grant Legate.”

“
I
need a better name.” That was the first thing out of my mouth.
Not demanding answers, only being annoyed. James played me like a
fiddle.

“
Eventually,
yes. For now, I have another offer.” James turned and crossed
both his hands over his belly.

“
Yeah.
I guessed something was up.” Not that I was clear on the finer
details. There were a lot of questions floating around my brain, but
James had basically stated he was using them all up for this
proposal.

"Would
you like to know more?"

"Sure,"
I said dryly. Clearly the demands uttered forth from my mouth weren’t
blunt enough. My patience was nearly saintlike to suffer through this
without trying to strangle the man. Or AI, or Voice, whatever.

"One
of our long-time denizens has ceased to function properly,"
James said.

"Someone
from your world." I tried to focus on my calming techniques.
Step one, respond to the question at hand, don’t stress about
what’s happened before. Step two, look forward. Step three,
think of something that made me happy, such as music and dance.

"A
very well-known figure. Mostly retired, he was quite famous decades
ago."

"And
he's dead." I said.

"Effectively.
Death in our world holds many meanings." That made sense. A
computer probably had a much different concept than humans.

"What
does this have to do with me?"

"We've
decided to offer you a unique chance to view our land. Would you like
to see something no one else from your world has?"

"If
it gets me answers, sure. But I'm still not clear on what you
actually want." I wasn't focusing right anyway. Part of my mind
was trying to recall the feet placement for a brisk beat. The pop and
lock movements of high tempo music were still a bit awkward for me.

"We
are willing to let you choose to take up his mantle for a limited
time. To be precise, four weeks of our time. One week in your world."
James said.

"You
want me to be someone from your world, who died?" My head drew
back and one eye squinted slightly with confusion.

"In
essence, yes."

"That's
strange." Beyond odd actually. The Voices wanted me to pretend
to be someone else? How on earth would this lead to an answer about
my fiancée? I had nothing else to go on. James wasn't going to
answer my question. Once the man said no, he stuck with it. Only
harassment from the other Voices had even gotten us this far.

"Will
you?" James, ever the questioning man, asked. I had a hard time
seeing any downside. Pretending to be someone else would be an
interesting distraction.

"I'll
get help, right? I can't act as someone else without information."

"Yes.
You'll receive information about his life as you interact with the
world, much the same as any others who travel to our world will."