Start the Game (Galactogon: Book #1) (29 page)

In time, the government took notice of this negative trend and initiated programs to contravene it. There was nothing they could do about the games, but they did introduce enormous benefits for new parents and their children, effectively making the second and third child the family’s breadwinners. Abortions were banned. Public awareness campaigns were launched. Maternity leave began to kick in in the first month of pregnancy and was fully paid for by the state. Basically, they created a machine that would use various incentives to combat populace’s gradual migration into virtual reality—and currently, this machine was going at full steam. The only thing I didn’t understand in all this was…

“That’s all very well, but I still don’t understand: What does any of this have to do with me?” I asked Col. Walters as soon as his lecture drew to a close. It was nice to learn new things and all, but it’s also good to know what the point of learning it is. At the moment, I didn’t understand.

“That’s the second piece of news. You’re going to be a father soon…”

WHAT?!

“What the hell are you talking about?” All my cool popped like a soap bubble, unleashing all my feelings. This was simply unacceptable! I couldn’t care less who this geezer was—I wasn’t about to sit around and watch him lie to my face just to see what kind of reaction he could get from me. After all, I could have been the murderer of six people! “You’re losing your mind from all your suspicions. I haven’t left my cocoon in about five years! You know, Colonel Walters, it was a pleasure speaking with you and listening to your lovely story about how the government cares about our children, but I think I’d like it if you were on your way now. I have a patched
Galactogon
waiting for me. As you yourself pointed out, the search goes on even if only one of the contestants remains. So basically, you’re bugging me now.”

“Here’s the paternity test,” smirked the geezer, producing some sheets from his briefcase and not even thinking of getting up from his chair. “According to these, a certain Alexis Panzer is the biological father of a child that is about to be born to a Eunice Dormouse. You are free to request an independent test (even a DNA one, if it so strikes you) whenever you like. Eunice is in her second month of pregnancy and the government will do anything it can to ensure that she gives birth to a healthy baby. Regardless of whether you recognize the child as your own or not, the fact remains that you, Mr. Panzer, are the father.”

“Eunice?” My rage vanished in a flash, replaced by the lovely memory of our first meeting—the night’s drinking that had led to something greater. Had I really done it?

“I can see that it’s starting to come back to you,” the old man smiled again. “One of the contestants is in the second month of pregnancy and that, in combination with the current situation, brings us to a dead end. Which is precisely why I’m here.”

“I don’t understand anything anymore,” I muttered, reclining in my chair and staring at the wall. Eunice was pregnant? Pregnant from me? I was going to be a father?

“According to the contest’s rules, the contestants are not allowed to cooperate with one another. However, under the law, a father is required to take part in the raising of his child, beginning with the moment of conception. On the face of it, this is a conflict of interests and the contest organizers don’t know what to do.”

“You didn’t come here without having figured out a way out of this situation,” I ventured despite my confusion. This was easily the last thing I had expected.

“It’s true, I have certain ideas about what could be done,” my guest assured me. “You two need to move in together and start a family.”

“WHAT?!”

“Why the outburst?” Col. Walters jerked up his eyebrows, evidently reveling in the situation. “I see nothing bad in two young people, who will have a child in short order, forming a family—a building block of this great society. That is the only way that both of you will be able to continue your search for the check without infringing on any laws or contracts. Otherwise, both you and Eunice will be disqualified. No one is allowed to break the law, even the President.”

“I’m not sure I understand. How are we supposed to avoid violating the contract where it clearly states that there can be no cooperation between the participants?”

“That’s precisely where the loophole lies. You will continue searching for the check as before—but instead of participating as Alexis Panzer, you will be participating as the Panzer Family. Eunice Dormouse will be officially suspended from the contest, since, according to the law, it is unlawful for her to work or perform any contractual obligations. However, Eunice Panzer, as a spouse, is allowed to help her husband in his own pursuit of the check. With that said, no one is even thinking of deleting her character or account configuration. She will still be a contestant, albeit under a different alias. There is no other way to ensure that both of you can continue in the contest. It’s either form a family or we force you to terminate your contract. The choice is yours.”

“Why only mine? There’s also Eunice, who would never agree to something like that…”

“Like I said, the choice is yours and your alone. Are you willing to continue your search or shall I terminate your account configuration?”

“That’s the second time I hear you mention the account configuration. Am I correct in assuming that we are being tracked?”

“Every step,” the old man nodded. “I was just reading a report about how your coordinator was unhappy with your hasty decision to leave the planet you discovered without exploring it to its utmost.”

“But…” I cut myself short, trying to let this obvious hint that there were still more goodies to be found pass by without unnecessary comment. If I started to argue, they could simply take them away. Instead, I chose to go with the typical phrase one resorts to in atypical situations. “How much time do I have to think this over?”

“About five minutes, no more,” my guest replied, shrugging. “I can appreciate your current frame of mind, but you need to make this choice immediately—do you wish to go on with your search or is this where you get off? If you choose the former, then the Panzer family will continue the search. If you choose the latter, as soon as your home has been repaired, you will be returned to it. You will keep your current character and everything you’ve acquired so far, but you will be unable to get that check—even if you somehow find the planet that it’s on. You can think about it and weigh the pros and cons, but you have to arrive at a decision before I leave here. Otherwise, a decision will be made for you, and that will be disqualification.”

A family…

A vacuum…dishes…diapers…real pacifiers…rows and tantrums arising from misplaced socks…nerve damage arising from constant nagging…

There was such a load of nonsense rushing through my mind that I was even taken aback with myself—did I really believe all this about having a family? Theoretically, I wasn’t losing anything at all—after the contest was over, we could easily get a divorce. No one had prohibited us from doing so as long as I spent time with the child and took part in his upbringing. But the very fact that I was suddenly being forced to make a decision like this stressed me out—no one seemed to be taking our feelings into account. Neither mine, nor Eunice’s. Well then the devil could take them and their damn contest to the deepest deeps! I could survive fine without all this crap!

“Thanks for the heads up,” I said, getting up from my chair and letting my demeanor show that there was nothing further to discuss. “I will try to be a good father, but I must reject your offer. You don’t make a decision to form a family on your own. If I’m going to do this, then I’d only do it after meeting with Eunice personally. If I only have five minutes, then I must wish the remaining contestants well. Thanks for stopping by!”

“No, thank you for not disenchanting an old man,” said Col. Walters, also rising to his feet. “You will have the chance to talk it over with Eunice in two hours. I will have someone pick you up. If either of you had answered otherwise, you would have both been disqualified from the contest. This was precisely why I came to you in person. I wanted to personally witness your reaction. You can go get ready now. You have an important meeting ahead of you. I’ll see myself out. Goodbye…”

“So this is where you live now, huh hubby?” Eunice asked, glancing around my apartment. “It’s not much, but I see possibilities. Oh! That’s a Darlik guard circuit, isn’t it? Why haven’t you turned it on yet?”

“Because I have absolutely no idea what a guard circuit even is or why someone put it in here, I answered sincerely. “And we agreed—when we’re alone together, we’re partners—not spouses.”

“Are you sure we’re alone right now? I wouldn’t express myself in such absolute terms if I were you.”

Our rendezvous at the restaurant—which the cops drove me to—was pretty relaxed. We were sitting across from each other, not knowing what to say, until the girl came out with the key phrase: “I want to go on looking for that check.” After that, it was like a dam breaking. We spent the next hour talking over everything that we could—yes, we’d get married, but there would be no family in actual fact—at least for now. And by “family,” we meant sex. There had been more than enough of that when we first met two months ago. I would recognize the child as my own and take an active part in its upbringing. The doctors gave Eunice permission to stay in the game for another four months—as long as she remained under their close supervision. But there was an advantage here too—from here on out, Eunice would play in my game mode—that is, she would no longer have a limit on her playing time. Though, she couldn’t pump money into the game either.

“That’s no problem,” Eunice assured me. “I already have a scout that I’ve pumped up to A-class and equipped with all the best equipment I could find. So I’m ready to go explore. The main thing for me right now is to get out of the Training Sector. I still have about fifty game days left in there.”

After our meeting, the detectives whisked Eunice and me to a very quick civil ceremony, issued us documents attesting our marriage and dropped us off back at my place, where some engineers were already installing the second gaming capsule. It really was very strange to see a stranger in my house, even if this was just a temporary state of affairs. But I was ready to make some sacrifices for that check. And anyway, as much as I didn’t like it, the fact was that I’d have to have a relationship with Eunice for at least the next twelve years while the child grew up. So showing my dislike of the situation wouldn’t do any good. I mean, I was still a kid myself…

“What kind of system do you have installed?”

“What do you mean?”

“Do you control your home yourself or do you use software?”

“Oh! You’re talking about the smart home. I have a Daphne-2130 with expanded functionality. Stan’s the name.”

“Excuse me, Master,” Stan butted in. “My system version was updated to Daphne-2135. You personally approved the upgrade.”

“Master?” Eunice rolled her eyes. “I can see that humility might not be your strong suit.”

“Yup,” I nodded, barely keeping myself from cracking up. I liked to watch the way guests reacted to Stan calling me Master—that’s the way people were after all…

“Stan, scan this address.” Eunice scribbled a series of digits on a sheet of paper and held it up to one of the cameras. “You can find my Daphne—she’s a 2135 too—at this address. I need her here. Grant her full access and let her have 50% of the system resources.”

“Do it, Stan,” I told my assistant when no confirmation followed Eunice’s command. “Give Eunice full access rights too. User category: family.”

“Master, allotting 50% of system resources to another system will impair my communications bandwidth with this residence. I should also point out that certain modules do not support multiuser mode…”

“You can retain control of those,” I quickly decided, but, upon seeing Eunice’s eyes narrow, added, “although, on second thought, let’s assign those as they come up. For now, go invite our new guest and make sure she’s accommodated.”

“Yes, Master,” Stan said with such melancholy in his voice that for a second I forgot he was just a piece of software.

“Did you configure the interaction module yourself?” Euncie asked, taking a seat. “Your Daphne’s pretty particular. I get the impression that you’ve rewritten her entirely to suit yourself. Or added something to her.”

“There’re some additions,” I agreed. “But we can talk about that some other time. Stan orders my food for me. By the way, what’s your Daphne’s name? Does she even have one?”

“Now I know what you’ve added to yours,” smiled Eunice. “My Daphne has no personality—she’s just a smart home. Alright, let’s talk about life some other time. I’m more interested in
Galactogon
at the moment—and finding that check. Are you out of the Training Sector yet? What empire are you with?”

“Master, I’ve performed your request,” came Stan’s detached voice, letting me know that my home had just become twice as smart. He sounded upset! “Are there any further instructions?”

“Put together a summary of my character’s current progress and send it to the other Daphne,” I said and turned back to Eunice. “It’s a long story. I’d rather you just looked it all over. While he’s getting that ready, tell me about what you’ve accomplished. Who are you? Where and when are you going to emerge?”

Eunice turned out to be a Precian marine. Having an enormous budget at her disposal, she bought herself a scout, since she planned to explore on her own, leveled it up to A-class, bought three marine armors, a huge armory of weapons, and a personal spacedock outside of R’shion, a backwater of the Precian Empire. Basically, as soon as she’d emerge from the Training Sector—currently she was planning on doing this in a month and a half—all of
Galactogon
would be open to her and all she’d have to do was get on with her search for the prize planet.